'Rover  "Boys 
On  the  Farm 


rnia 
,1 


ARTHUR  M.WINFIELD 


ONE   HORSE   REARED   AND   TRIED   TO  BACK.  —  Page  34, 
The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Farm. 


THE  ROVER  BOYS 
ON  THE  FARM 

OR 
LAST  DAYS  AT  PUTNAM  HALL 

BY 

ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL,  THB 

ROVER  BOYS!ON  THE  OCEAN,  THE  FfTXNAM 

HALL  SERIES^  KTC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 
GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 

Made  in  tbe  United  State*  of  America. 


BOOKS  BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELEJ 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 


THE  FIRST  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  OUT  WEST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 


THE  SECOND  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 


THE  PUTNAM  HALL  SERIES 

THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CADETS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  RIVALS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CHAMPIONS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  REBELLION 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  ENCAMPMENT 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  MYSTERY 


I2mo.    Qoth.    Illustrated. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1908,  BY 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER, 

The  Rover  Boys  on  a  Farm 


STACK 


r-f 


PREFACE. 


MY  DEAR  BOYS:  With  this  I  present  to  you 
•'The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Farm,"  the  twelfth  vol 
ume  in  the  "Rover  Boys  Series  for  Young  Amer 
icans." 

It  is  a  large  number  of  volumes  to  write  about 
one  set  of  characters,  isn't  it?  When  I  started 
the  series,  many  years  ago,  I  had  in  mind,  as  I 
have  told  you  before,  to  pen  three  books,  possibly 
four.  But  as  soon  as  I  had  written  "The  Rover 
Boys  at  School,  "The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Ocean" 
and  "The  Rover  Boys  in  the  Jungle,"  there  was  a 
cry  for  more,  and  so  I  wrote  "The  Rover  Boys 
Out  West,"  "On  the  Great  Lakes,"  "In  the  Moun 
tains,"  "On  Land  and  Sea,"  "In  Camp,"  "On  the 
River,"  "On  the  Plains,"  and  then  "In  Southern 
Waters,"  where  we  last  left  our  heroes. 

In  the  present  story,  as  promised  in  the  last 
volume,  the  scene  is  shifted  back  to  the  farm  and, 
to  dear  old  Putnam  Hall,  with  their  many  pleas-; 
ant  associations.  As  before,  Sam,  Tom  and  Dick 
are  to  the  front,  along  with  several  of  their 
friends,  and  there  are  a  number  of  adventures, 
some  comical  and  some  strange  and  mystifying. 


PREJACE 

At  the  school  the  rivalries  are  as  keen  as  ever,  but 
the  Rover  boys  are  on  their  mettle,  and  prove 
their  worth  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

Again  I  thank  my  numerous  readers  for  all  the 
kind  words  they  have  spoken  about  my  stories,  I 
hope  the  present  volume  will  please  them  in  every 
J^ay. 

Affectionately  and  sincerely  yours, 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  JAGE 

I.  SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS       .  I 

IL  WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN        .  9 

IIL  A  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE  18 

IV.  AT  THE  FARM 27 

V.  RANDOLPH  ROVER'S  STORY          ...  36 

VI.  WAITING  FOR  NEWS 44 

VIL  A  STRANGE  LETTER  Box       .        .        .       .  51 

fill.  LAST  DAYS  ON  THE  FARM          ...  58 

DC  AT  THE  WILD  WEST  SHOW       ...  65 

X.  JOLLY   OLD   SCHOOLMATES           ...  73 

XI.  WILLIAM  PHILANDER  TUBBS       ...  82 

XII.  WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  STAIRS       .        .  90 

XIII.  DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE            ...  97 

XIV.  AT  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT         .  106 
XV.  AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT        .        .        .        .116 

XVI.  THE  HUNT  FOR  A  SNAKE            .        .        .  124 

XVII.  A  STIRRIKG  SCBNE  IN  THE  SCHOOLROOM     .  132 

XVIIL  Iw  WHICH  TAD  SOBBER  DISAPPEARS         .  140 

XIX.  WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY        .        .  148 

XX.  DICK  AND  DORA 156 

XXL  A  BOB  SLED  RACE 163 

XXII.  PELEG  SNUGGERS'  QUEER  RIQE            .       .  170 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XXIII.  HOLIDAYS  AT  THE  FARM 

XXIV.  A  CAPTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE 
XXV.  CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  FARM 

XXVI.  THE  SKATING  RACE 

XXVII.  ON  THE  LAKE 

XXVIII.  AT  THE  OLD  HOUSE     . 

XXIX.  A  WRECK  AND  A  CAPTURE 

XXX.  GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM  HALL 


1/8 

185 
192 
199 
206 
213 

220 

227 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON 
THE  FARM 

CHAPTER   I 

SOMETHING   ABOUT   THE   ROVER   BOYS 

"SAM,  this  isn't  the  path." 

"I  know  it,  Tom." 

"We've  missed  our  way,"  went  on  Tom  Rover, 
with  a  serious  look  on  his  usually  sunny  face. 

"It  looks  that  way  to  me,"  answered  Sam 
Rover,  his  younger  brother.  "I  think  we  made  a 
wrong  turn  after  we  slid  down  the  cliff." 

"What  is  keeping  Dick?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"Let's  call  to  him,"  went  on  Tom,  and  set  up 
a  loud  cry,  in  which  his  brother  joined.  The  pair 
listened  intently,  but  no  answer  came  back. 

"I  don't  like  this,"  said  Sam,  an  anxious  look 
in  his  clear  eyes.  "Maybe  Dick  is  in  trouble." 

"Perhaps  so,"  answered  Tom  Rover. 

The  two  boys  were  far  up  on  a  mountainside, 
and  all  around  them  were  tall  trees,  thick  brash- 


2  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

wood,  and  immense  ridges  of  rocks.  It  had  been 
a  clear,  sunshiny  day,  but  now  the  sky  was  over 
cast,  and  it  looked  like  rain. 

"We've  got  to  go  back  for  Dick,"  said  Tom, 
after  a  painful  pause,  "No  use  of  going  on  with 
out  him." 

"I  hope  he  hasn't  fallen  over  some  cliff  and  hurt 
himself,"  returned  his  younger  brother. 

"I  don't  see  why  he  doesn't  answer  us,  if  he's 
all  right,"  was  the  unsatisfactory  reply.  "Come 
on,  or  the  storm  will  overtake  us  before  we  get 
down  from  the  mountain  and  we'll  be  soaked  by 
the  time  we  reach  home. 

Side  by  side  the  brothers  retraced  their  steps — 
a  hard  task,  for  it  is  much  easier  to  climb  down  a 
steep  mountainside  than  to  climb  up. 

To  those  who  have  read  the  previous  volumes 
in  this  "Rover  Boys  Series,"  the  two  brothers 
just  mentioned  will  need  no  special  introduction. 
The  Rover  boys  were  three  in  number,  Dick  be 
ing  the  oldest,  fun-loving  Tom  coming  next,  and 
Sam  bringing  up  the  rear.  All  were  bright, 
lively,  up-to-date  lads,  and  honest  and  manly  to 
the  core.  They  lived  on  a  farm  called  Valley 
Brook,  in  New  York  state, — a  beautiful  spot 
owned  by  their  uncle,  Randolph  Rover,  and  his 
wife,  Martha.  Their  father,  Anderson  Rover, 
also  lived  at  the  farm  when  at  home,  but  he  was 
away  a  great  deal  on  business. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS    3 

From  the  farm  the  boys  had  been  sent,  some 
years  before,  to  Putnam  Hall,  an  ideal  place  of 
learning,  of  which  we  shall  learn  more  as  our 
tale  proceeds.  What  the  lads  did  there  on  their 
arrival  has  already  been  related  in  "The  Rover 
Boys  at  School,"  the  first  volume  of  this  series, 

A  short  term  at  Putnam  Hall  was  followed  by 
a  trip  on  the  ocean,  and  then  a  long  journey  to 
the  jungles  of  Africa,  in  search  of  Anderson 
Rover,  who  had  disappeared.  Then  came  a  grand 
outing  out  west,  and  another  outing  on  the  great 
lakes,  followed  by  some  stirring  adventures  in 
the  mountains  of  New  York  state. 

Coming  from  the  mountains,  the  three  youths 
had  expected  to  go  back  to  Putnam  Hall  at  once, 
but  fate  ordained  otherwise  and  they  were  cast 
away  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  related  in  "The 
Rover  Boys  on  Land  and  Sea."  They  had  a  hard 
task  of  it  getting  home,  and  then  returned  to  the 
school  and  had  some  splendid  times  while  in 
camp  with  the  other  cadets. 

When  vacation  was  once  more  at  hand  the  boys 
soon  solved  the  problem  of  what  to  do.  Their 
Uncle  Randolph  had  taken  a  houseboat  for  debt. 
The  craft  was  located  on  the  Ohio  River,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  make  a  trip  down  the  Mississippi. 

"It  will  be  the  best  ever!"  Tom  declared,  and 
they  started  with  much  enthusiasm,  taking  with 
them  "Songbird"  Powell,  a  school  chum  addicted 


4  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

to  the  making  of  doggerel  which  he  called  poetry, 
Fred  Garrison,  a  plucky  boy  who  had  stood  by 
them  through  thick  and  thin,  and  Hans  Mueller, 
a  German  youth  who  was  still  struggling  with 
the  mysteries  of  the  English  tongue.  With  the 
boys  went  an  old  friend,  Mrs.  Stanhope,  and  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Laning.  With  Mrs.  Stanhope  was 
her  only  daughter  Dora,  whom  Dick  Rover  con 
sidered  the  sweetest  girl  in  the  whole  world,  and 
Mrs.  Laning  had  with  her  two  daughters,  Grace 
and  Nellie,  especial  friends  of  Sam  and  Dick. 

The  trip  on  the  houseboat  proved  a  long  and 
eventful  one,  and  during  that  time  the  boys  and 
their  company  fell  in  with  Dan  Baxter,  Lew 
Flapp  and  several  other  enemies.  On  the  Mis 
sissippi  the  craft  was  damaged,  and  while  it  was 
being  repaired  the  party  took  a  trip  inland,  as 
related  in  "The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Plains."  Then 
the  houseboat  was  stolen,  and  what  this  led  to 
has  been  related  in  detail  in  "The  Rover  Boys  in 
Southern  Waters."  In  that  volume  they  brought 
to  book  several  of  the  rascals  who  had  annoyed 
them,  and  they  caused  Dan  Baxter  to  feel  so 
ashamed  of  himself  that  the  bully  made  up  his 
mind  to  reform. 

Hired  out  from  their  long  trip,  the  Rover  boys 
were  glad  enough  to  get  back  home  again.  For 
nearly  a  week  their  friends  remained  with  them 
at  Valley  Brook  farm  and  then  they  departed, 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS    5 

the  Stanhopes  and  Lanings  for  their  homes  and 
Fred,  Hans  and  Songbird  for  Putnam  Hall. 

"Of  course  you're  coming  back  to  the  Hall?" 
Fred  had  said  on  leaving. 

"Coming  back?"  had  been  Tom's  answer. 
"Why,  you  couldn't  keep  us  away  with  a  Catling 
gun!" 

"To  be  sure  we'll  be  back,"  answered  Dick 
Rover. 

"And  we'll  have  the  greatest  times  ever," 
chimed  in  Sam.  "I  am  fairly  aching  to  see  the 
dear  old  school  again." 

"And  Captain  Putnam,  and  all  the  rest,"  con 
tinued  Tom. 

"And  have  some  fun,  eh,  Tom?"  and  Sam 
poked  his  fun-loving  brother  in  the  ribs. 

"Well,  when  we  go  back  we've  got  to  do  some 
studying,"  Dick  had  put  in.  "Do  you  know  what 
father  said  yesterday?" 

"No,  what?"  came  simultaneously  from  his 
brothers. 

"He  said  we  were  getting  too  old  to  go  to  Put 
nam  Hall — that  we  ought  to  be  thinking  of  going 
to  college,  or  of  getting  into  business." 

"Hum!"  murmured  Tom,  and  he  became  sud 
denly  thoughtful. 

"I  know  why  he  said  that,"  said  Sam,  with  a 
wink  at  his  big  brother.  "He  knows  how  sweet 
Dick  >s  on  Dora,  and " 


6  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"Hi !  you  let  np !"  cried  Dick,  his  face  redden* 
ing.  "It  wasn't  that  at  all.  We  are  getting  pretty 
old  for  Putnam  Hall,  and  you  know  it." 

"It  seems  I'd  never  want  to  leave  the  dear  old 
school,"  murmured  Tom.  "Why,  it's  like  a  sec 
ond  home  to  us.  Think  of  all  the  jolly  times 
we've  had  there — and  the  host  of  friends  we've 
made." 

"And  the  enemies,"  added  Sam.  "Don't  for 
get  them,  or  they  may  feel  slighted." 

"Dan  Baxter  was  our  worst  enemy  in  that 
school,  and  he  is  going  to  reform,  Sam," 

"Perhaps.  I  won't  feel  sure  of  it  until  I  really 
see  it,"  answered  the  youngest  Rover. 

"By  the  way,  I  got  a  postal  from  Dan  to-day," 
said  Dick.  "He  is  in  Philadelphia,  and  working 
for  a  carpet  manufacturer." 

"Well,  if  he's  gone  to  work,  that's  a  good  sign," 
said  Tom. 

On  their  arrival  at  the  farm  the  boys  had  been 
met  by  their  father,  but  now  Anderson  Rover 
had  gone  away  on  a  business  trip  which  was  to 
last  for  several  days.  As  usual,  he  left  the  lads 
in  charge  of  his  brother  and  the  boys'  aunt. 

"Now  just  take  it  easy  for  awhile,"  was  Mr. 
Rover's  advice,  on  leaving.  "Rest  up  all  you 
can,  and  then,  when  you  go  back  to  the  school, 
you'll  feel  as  bright  as  a  dollar." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS    7 

"Silver  or  paper,  dad?"  asked  Tom,  mischiev 
ously. 

"Now,  Tom—" 

"Oh,  I  know  what  you  mean,  dad,  and  111  be 
as  quiet  as  a  mule  with  a  sandbag  tied  to  his  tail," 
Answered  the  fun-loving  offspring. 

The  day  after  Anderson  Rover's  departure 
from  the  farm  was  quiet  enough,  but  on  the  morn 
ing  following  the  boys'  uncle  received  a  letter  in 
the  mail  which  seemed  to  trouble  him  not  a  little. 

"I  must  attend  to  this  matter  without  delay," 
said  Randolph  Rover  to  his  wife. 

"What  is  wrong,  Randolph  ?" 

"I  don't  think  I  can  explain  to  you,  Martha, 
It's  about  those  traction  company  bonds  I  pur- 
chased  a  few  months  ago." 

"Those  you  paid  ten  thousand  dollars  for?" 

"Yes." 

"What  about  them?" 

"As  I  said  before,  I  can't  explain — it  is  r*fh:r 
SL  complicated  affair." 

"They  are  yours,  aren't  they,  Randolph?" 

"Oh,  yes.     But " 

"Aren't  they  worth  what  you  gave  for  then?.* 

"I  hope  so." 

"Can't  you  find  out  and  make  sure  ?" 

"That  is  what  I  am  going  to  do,"  replied  Ra-> 
dolph  Rover,  and  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  As  my  ol  l 


8  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

readers  know,  he  was  a  very  retired  individual, 
given  to  scientific  research,  especially  in  regard 
to  farming,  and  knew  little  about  business. 

"If  you've  been  swindled  in  any  way,  you  must 
go  after  the  men  who  sold  you  the  bonds,"  said 
Mrs.  Rover.  "We  cannot  afford  to  lose  so  much 
money." 

"I  don't  believe  I've  been  swindled — at  least,  if 
I  have,  I  think  the  party  who  sold  me  the  bonds 
will  make  them  good,  Martha.  I'll  know  all 
about  it  to-morrow,"  answered  Randolph  Rover, 
and  there  the  conversation  came  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER   II 

WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN 

IT  was  on  the  day  that  Randolph  Rover  was  to 
go  to  the  town  of  Carwell,  fifteen  miles  away,  to 
see  about  the  bonds,  that  the  three  Rover  boys 
planned  for  a  day's  outing. 

"Let  us  go  to  the  top  of  Chase  Mountain,"  sug 
gested  Sam.  "I  haven't  been  up  there  for  three 
years." 

"Second  the  suggestion,"  replied  Tom.  "We 
can  take  a  lunch  along  and  make  a  day  of  it,"  and 
so  it  was  arranged. 

Chase  Mountain  was  about  three  miles  away, 
on  the  other  side  of  Humpback  Falls,  where  Sam 
had  once  had  such  a  stirring  adventure,  as  told  in 
detail  in  "The  Rover  Boys  at  School."  It  was 
a  ragged  eminence,  and  from  the  top  a  view  could 
be  had  of  the  country  for  many  miles  around. 

The  day  seemed  to  be  a  perfect  one  when  the 
three  youths  started,  and  when  they  reached  the 
top  of  the  mountain  they  enjoyed  the  vast  pano 
rama  spread  before  them.  They  likewise  enjoyed 
the  substantial  lunch  their  Aunt  Martha  had  pro- 

9 


10  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

vided,  and  ate  uiatil  Tom  was  ready  to  "bust  his 
buttons,"  as  he  expressed  it. 

"Let  us  try  a  new  path  down,"  said  Sam,  when 
it  came  time  to  go  home,  and  he  and  Tom  led  the 
way,  over  a  series  of  rocky  ridges  and  cliffs  any 
thing  but  easy  to  traverse.  In  some  places  they 
had  to  drop  ten  and  fifteen  feet,  and  once  Tom 
came  down  on  his  ankle  in  a  manner  that  made 
him  cry  with  pain. 

"You  look  out  for  yourself,"  warned  Dick. 
"If  you  sprain  an  ankle  up  here  we'll  have  a  job 
of  it  getting  you  home." 

"No  sprained  ankle  for  mine,  thank  you,"  re 
plied  Tom.  And  he  was  more  careful  after  that. 

As  Dick  came  after  his  brothers  he  saw  some 
thing  peculiar  at  one  side  of  the  path  he  was  pur 
suing.  It  appeared  to  be  a  tin  lunch  box  sus 
pended  from  a  tree  limb  by  a  bit  of  wire.  The 
box  was  painted  red  and  seemed  to  be  new. 

"That's  strange,"  said  the  eldest  Rover  boy  to 
himself.  "Who  would  leave  such  a  thing  as  that 
in  that  position?  I'll  have  to  investigate." 

Without  telling  Sam  and  Tom  what  he  was 
going  to  do,  Dick  left  the  path  and  plunged  into 
the  bushes  which  grew  between  himself  and  the 
tree  from  which  the  tin  box  was  suspended. 
Among  the  bushes  the  footing  was  uncertain,  and 
hardly  had  he  taken  a  dozen  steps  when  he  felt 
himself  sinking. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN      n 

"Hi!  this  won't  do!5"  he  cried  in  alarm,  and 
then  plunged  down  into  a  big  hole,  some  bushes, 
moss  and  dead  leaves  coming  down  on  top  of  him. 

In  the  meantime,  Sam  and  Tom  had  gone  on. 
Coming  to  where  the  path  appeared  to  divide, 
they  turned  to  the  right,  only  to  find,  five  minutes 
later,  that  they  had  made  a  mistake. 

"Where  in  the  world  can  Dick  be  ?"  murmured 
Sam,  after  he  and  his  brother  had  called  again. 
"I  thought  he  was  right  behind  us." 

"So  did  I,  Sam.  It's  mighty  queer  what's  be 
come  of  him.  If  he  fell  over  a  cliff "  Tom 

did  not  finish,  but  heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

With  anxious  hearts  the  two  boys  endeavored 
to  retrace  their  steps  up  the  mountainside.  They 
had  to  climb  up  one  of  the  cliffs,  and  just  as  this 
was  accomplished  it  began  to  rain. 

"More  bad  luck,"  grumbled  Sam,  "If  this 
keeps  on  we'll  soon  be  soaked." 

"Spit,  spat,  spo!  Where  did  that  mountain 
path  go!"  cried  Tom,  repeating  a  doggerel  often 
used  by  children.  "Dick !  Dick !"  he  yelled,  at  the 
top  of  his  lungs.  Then  Sam  joined  in  the  call 
once  again.  But  as  before,  there  was  no  answer. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  two  Rover  boys 
were  now  thoroughly  alarmed.  As  they  had 
climbed  up  the  mountainside  they  knew  they  must 
be  close  to  the  spot  where  they  had  last  seen  Dick. 
What  had  become  of  their  big  brother? 


12  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"Tom,  do  you  think  he  could  have  fallen  over 
some  cliff  and  rolled  to  the  bottom  of  the  moun 
tain?"  questioned  Sam,  anxiously. 

"How  could  he  roll  to  the  bottom  with  the 
trees  so  thick?    He  would  have  plenty  of  chance 
to  catch  hold  of  one  of  them." 
(     "Not  if  he  was  knocked  unconscious." 

"Well,  where  can  he  be?" 

"I  don't  know." 

It  was  now  raining  steadily,  and  to  protect 
themselves  the  two  boys  pulled  their  caps  well 
down  over  their  heads  and  turned  up  their  coat 
collars.  They  came  to  a  halt  under  the  wide- 
spreading  branches  of  a  hemlock  tree. 

"It  beats  the  nation,  that's  what  it  does,"  de 
clared  Tom.  "Maybe  the  earth  opened  and  swal 
lowed  him  up !" 

"Tom,  this  is  no  joke." 

"And  I'm  not  jokin'g,  Sam.  I  can't  under 
stand  it  at  all." 

"Is  that  the  path  over  yonder?"  continued  the 
youngest  Rover,  pointing  to  a  spot  beyond  the 
opposite  side  of  the  hemlock  tree. 

"It  looks  a  little  like  it,"  was  Tom's  reply. 
"Might  as  well  go  over  and  make  sure." 

Leaving  the  shelter  of  the  tree,  they  made  their 
way  through  the  bushes,  which  were  now  begin 
ning  to  drip  from  the  rain.  As  they  progressed 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN   13 

Sam  pushed  a  big  branch  from  him  and  let  it 
swing  back  suddenly,  thereby  catching  Tom  full 
in  the  face. 

"Wow!"  spluttered  the  fun-loving  Rover,  as 
he  staggered  back.  "Hi!  Sam,  do  you  think  I 
need  a  shower  bath?  I'm  wet  enough  already."! 
And  Tom  commenced  to  brush  the  water  from 
his  face. 

"I  didn't  mean  to  let  it  slip,"  answered  Sam. 
"But  say " 

What  Sam  was  going  to  say  further  will  never 
be  known,  for  just  then  he  felt  himself  slipping 
down  into  some  sort  of  a  hole.  He  tried  to  leap 
back,  and  made  a  clutch  at  Tom's  legs,  and  the 
next  instant  both  rolled  over  and  over  and  shot 
downward,  out  of  the  daylight  into  utter  dark 
ness. 

They  were  taken  so  completely  by  surprise  that 
neither  said  a  word.  Over  and  over  they  went, 
a  shower  of  dirt,  sticks  and  dead  leaves  coming 
after  them.  Then  they  brought  up  on  a  big  pile 
of  decayed  leaves  and  lay  there,  the  breath  all  but 
knocked  out  of  them. 

"Wha — what — where  are  we?"  gasped  Sam, 
when  he  felt  able  to  speak. 

"Say,  is  thi — this  a  ne — new  shoot-the — the — 
chutes?"  asked  Tom  who  was  bound  to  have  his 
fun  no  matter  what  occurred. 


14  ROVER  BOYS  O/f   THE  FARM 

"Are  you  hurt?" 

"I  don't  think  I  am,  but  I  reckon  my  livef 
turned  over  about  ten  times.  How  about  you?" 

"Shook  up,  that's  all,"  answered  Sam,  after 
rising  to  his  feet.  "Say,  we  came  down  in  a 
hurry,  didn't  we?" 

"Yes,  and  got  no  return  ticket  either."  Tom 
looked  upward.  "Gracious!  the  top  of  this  hole 
is  about  fifty  feet  away!  We  are  lucky  that  we 
didn't  break  our  necks  f 

"Now  we  are  down  here,  the  question  is,  How 
do  we  get  out,  Tom?" 

"Don't  ask  me  any  conundrums." 

"We've  got  to  get  out  somehow." 

"Unless  we  want  to  stay  here  and  save  the  ex 
pense  of  a  cemetery  lot." 

"Tom!" 

"Oh,  I  know  it's  no  joke,  Sam.  But  what  is 
there  to  do  ?  Here's  a  hole  at  least  fifty  feet  deep 
and  the  sides  are  almost  perpendicular.  Do  you 
think  we  can  climb  up?  I  am  afraid,  if  we  try 
it,  we'll  end  by  breaking  our  necks. " 

"It  certainly  is  steep,"  answered  the  youngest 
^brother,  looking  upward.  "Say!"  he  added,  sud 
denly,  "do  you  suppose  Dick  went  down  in  some 
such  hole  as  this  ?" 

"Perhaps;  where  there  is  one  hole  there  may 
be  more.  If  he  went  down  let  us  hope  he  didn't 
get  killed."  1 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN      15 

As  well  as  they  were  able,  the  two  boys  gazed 
around  them.  The  hole  was  irregular  in  form,  but 
about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  One  side  was  cf 
rough  rocks  and  the  other  dirt  and  tree  roots.  At 
the  top  the  treacherous  bushes  overhung  all 
sides  of  the  opening,  partly  concealing  the  yawn 
ing  pit  below. 

"The  rain  is  coming  in  pretty  lively,"  was 
Sam's  comment,  presently.  "I  wonder  if  there  is 
any  danger  of  this  hole  filling  up  with  water." 

"I  don't  think  so,  but  if  it  does  we  can  swim 
out." 

"Or  get  drowned.*' 

"Now  who  is  getting  blue  ?"  demanded  Tom. 

To  keep  out  of  the  worst  of  the  rain  Sam 
leaned  against  one  of  the  sides  of  the  hole.  He 
felt  it  give  beneath  his  weight  and  before  he  could 
save  himself  he  went  down  into  another  hole,  and 
Tom  came  after  him. 

The  boys  were  scared  and  both  cried  out  lustily. 
They  did  not  fall  far,  however — in  fact,  they 
rather  rolled,  for  the  second  opening  was  on  a 
slant  of  forty-five  degrees.  They  brought  up 
against  something  soft,  but  this  time  it  was  not 
a  bank  of  decayed  leaves. 

"Sam!     And  Tom!" 

"Dick!" 

"Where  did  you  come  from?" 

"How  did  you  get  here?" 


16  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"Are  you  hurt?" 

"No,  are  you?" 

"No." 

These  were  some  of  the  questions  asked  and 
answered  as  the  three  Rover  boys  stared  at  each 
other.  Other  questions  quickly  followed,  and 
Dick  told  how  he  had  started  to  get  the  tin  box 
and  gone  down  so  unexpectedly. 

"You  want  to  be  careful,"  he  cautioned.  "This 
mountainside  is  full  of  holes  and  pitfalls.  I  came 
down  one  hole  and  then  shot  right  into  another." 

"And  we  did  the  same  thing!"  cried  Tom. 
"Thank  heaven  none  of  us  have  broken  bones !" 

"Didn't  you  hear  us  call  to  you?"  asked  the 
youngest  Rover. 

"I  thought  I  heard  something — but  I  was  not 
sure.  I  called  back." 

"We  didn't  hear  you,"  answered  Tom. 

Dick  had  been  trying  to  get  out  of  the  hole 
into  which  he  had  tumbled,  but  without  success. 
Now  the  sides  were  growing  slippery  from  the 
rain,  so  the  ascent  became  more  difficult  than 
ever. 

"We're  in  a  pickle,"  sighed  Sam. 

"Oh,  we've  got  to  get  out  somehow,"  answered 
his  big  brother.  "We  can't  stay  here  forever." 

The  opening  was  almost  square,  with  three 
sides  of  rough  rock.  In  trying  to  climb  up  some 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN   17 

of  the  rocks  Tom  gave  one  a  shove  and  it  slid 
from  sight,  revealing  an  opening  beyond. 

"Hullo!  another  hole!"  cried  the  youth,  leap 
ing  back  in  consternation.  "Why,  the  old  moun 
tain  is  fairly  honeycombed  with  them." 

"I  was  never  on  this  side  of  the  mountain  be-» 
fore,"  said  Dick.  "They  used  to  tell  some  queer 
stories  about  this  side." 

"Didn't  they  say  some  parts  were  haunted?" 
asked  Sam. 

"Yes,  and  it  was  said  that,  years  ago,  many 
travelers  coming  this  way  disappeared." 

"Well,  why  shouldn't  they,  with  so  many  holes 
around?"  came  from  Tom.  "If  we  get  out  alive 
we'll  be  lucky." 

With  great  care  they  got  down  on  their  hands 
^nd  knees  and  examined  the  opening  beyond  the 
rocks. 

"I  believe  it's  a  big  cave,"  announced  Dick  a 
few  minutes  later.  "And  if  it  is,  I'm  rather  in 
clined  to  look  around  inside.  Perhaps  it  will  lead 
to  some  opening  on  the  mountainside  where  we 
(Can  get  out." 


CHAPTER   III 

A   MYSTERIOUS   CAVE 

AT  first  Sam  and  Tom  demurred  to  entering 
the  cave — which  looked  dark  and  forbidding.  But 
Dick  insisted  that  he  was  going  ahead,  and  rather 
than  be  left  behind  they  went  along. 

"We'll  light  some  kind  of  a  torch,"  said  the 
eldest  Rover.  "Got  some  matches?" 

<fYes,  I  brought  along  a  pocketful,"  answered 
Sam.  "Didn't  know  but  what  we'd  want  to  build 
a  campfire  this  noon." 

"We'll  want  one  now — to  dry  our  clothing  by," 
said  Tom.  "Let  us  pick  up  the  driest  of  the 
sticks." 

This  they  did,  and  having  entered  the  cave, 
they  made  a  good-sized  blaze.  This  sent  a  ruddy 
glow  around  the  cavern,  and  as  the  boys  moved 
about  fantastic  shadows  went  dancing  on  the 
rocky  walls,  adding  to  the  weirdness  of  the  scene. 

From  the  fire  each  of  the  youths  provided  him 
self  with  a  torch,  and  thus  equipped  they  moved 
around  the  cave  with  care,  taking  precautions  not 
to  fall  into  any  more  holes.  They  soon  found 

18 


A   MYSTERIOUS   CAVE  ig 

the  opening  on  the  mountainside  long  and  nar 
row  and  running  downward. 

"We  don't  want  to  get  lost,"  cautioned  Sam. 

"Oh,  we  can  always  go  back  to  the  fire,"  an 
swered  Dick. 

"Unless  it  goes  out  on  us." 

"It  won't  burn  itself  out  for  an  hour — I  saw 
to  that  before  we  left  it" 

As  the  boys  advanced  into  the  cave  they  came 
across  a  heap  of  bones.  Dick  examined  them 
carefully. 

"Skeletons  ?"  queried  Sam,  and  his  voice  trem 
bled  slightly. 

"Yes — of  lambs  and  pigs,"  was  the  dry  answer. 
"Somebody  has  been  making  this  a  rendezvous 
and  living  on  the  fat  of  the  land." 

"Maybe  that  accounts  for  Jerry  Burden's 
losses,"  suggested  Tom.  "He  said  he  lost  a  lamb 
last  spring,  and  two  pigs." 

"Yes,  and  old  Richard  Feltham  lost  a  pig  and 
some  chickens,"  added  Dick.  "Maybe  this  has 
been  a  hang-out  for  tramps." 

"Do  you  think  they  are  here  still?"  questioned 
Sam.  "We  don't  want  to  have  any  trouble." 

"I  am  sure  I  don't  know,  Sam.  But  this  proves 
one  thing." 

"That  we  can  get  out  of  the  cave?" 

"Exactly.  See,  here  is  an  old  coat  and  a  pair 
of  old  shoes.  Somebody  has  been  in  the  habit 


20  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

of  coming  here — and  he  wasn't  in  the  habit  of 
getting  in  the  way  we  got  in." 

They  moved  on,  and  soon  reached  a  larger 
opening.  Here  they  found  a  bit  of  old  harness 
and,  further  on,  where  the  ground  was  soft,  the 
tracks  of  wagon  wheels. 

"Somebody  has  been  in  the  habit  of  driving 
right  in  here!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "We  are  sure 
to  get  out !"  and  his  face  showed  his  relief. 

"Hark!  what's  that?"  cried  Sam,  and  shrank 
back  as  a  strange  rumbling  was  heard.  "Is  it  an 
earthquake,  or  a  landslide?" 

"It's  thunder,  that's  all,'  said  Dick,  a  minute 
later,  as  they  listened. 

"To  be  sure — the  storm  was  on  us  when  we 
fell  into  the  first  hole,"  answered  the  youngest 
Rover. 

"Perhaps  we  can  be  glad  we  are  under  shelter 
— if  the  storm  is  going  to  be  a  bad  one,"  came 
from  Tom.  "But,  come  on,  I  want  to  see  day 
light  again." 

He  moved  on  and  then  gave  a  cry  of  astonish 
ment. 

"Look!" 

His  brothers  did  so.  On  one  side  of  the  cave 
were  piled  thirty  or  forty  packing  cases.  The 
majority  of  them  were  empty,  but  three,  directed 
to  one  Jackson  Dwight,  Carwell,  were  full  and 
nailed  up. 


A   MYSTERIOUS   CAVE  2l 

"Well,  I  never !"  murmured  Sam.    "Dick " 

"The  freight  thieves!"  ejaculated  the  eldest 
Rover.  "Don't  you  remember  what  was  in  the 
paper  before  we  went  south,  and  what  was  in 
again  only  yesterday?  They  have  been  missing 
freight  from  Carwell  and  Boxton  and  half  a 
dozen  other  stations  for  over  a  year.  The  thieves 
must  have  brought  their  stuff  here  and  then  taken 
some  of  it  from  the  packing  cases  and  carted  it 
away  again." 

"It  certainly  looks  like  it,"  answered  Tom. 
"Only  three  full  cases  left.  I  wonder  when  thes^ 
were  taken?" 

"Most  likely  only  a  short  time  ago,"  said  Dick 
"The  cases  look  new." 

"Do  you  suppose  any  of  the  freight  thieves  are 
around?  If  they  are  we  want  to  keep  out  of  their 
way — if  they  are  desperate  characters." 

They  moved  on,  and  then  Dick  called  a  sud 
den  halt. 

"I  can  see  daylight  ahead,"  he  said.  "And 
somebody  is  moving  around.  Let  us  put  out  the 
torches." 

His  suggestion  was  speedily  followed,  and  the 
three  Rover  boys  advanced  with  caution.  At  its 
outer  end  the  cave  became  broader  while  the  roof 
was  only  about  ten  feet  high. 

"Hullo,    here's    another    surprise,"    whispered 


22  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Dick,  as  they  came  closer  to  the  opening. 
at  that!" 

He  pointed  to  one  side  of  the  cave  and  there  the 
others  saw  an  automobile  runabout  standing  and 
on  the  seat  two  men  dressed  for  a  tour.  They 
were  talking  to  a  third  man,  who  was  lounging 
against  a  front  wheel,  smoking  a  brier-root  pipe. 

"Maybe  they  are  the  freight  thieves,"  whis 
pered  Tom.  "Let  us  get  out  of  sight  and  listen 
to  what  they  have  to  say." 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  keep  out  of  sight,  for 
the  walls  of  the  cave  were  very  uneven  at  this 
point.  They  got  behind  a  projection,  and  by 
crawling  up  a  rocky  ledge  managed  to  reach  a 
point  above  and  to  one  side  of  the  runabout  and 
not  over  a  dozen  feet  from  it. 

'*Then  you  weren't  'going  to  stop  here,  Mer- 
rick?"  asked  the  man  leaning  against  the  wheel. 

"Not  now,  Dangler,"  was  the  reply  of  the  man 
with  the  pipe.  "The  storm  drove  us  in  here." 

"When  do  you  expect  to  meet  this  Randolph 
Rover?" 

"Very  soon." 

"He  ought  to  be  easy — he  is  so  simple  minded." 

"Oh,  I  think  we  can  work  him  right  enough," 
put  in  the  third  man,  who  was  tall  and  thin- 
cheeked. 

"Well,  if  you  do,  don't  forget  that  I  get  my 
share,  Pike,"  said  the  man  called  Dangler. 


A   MYSTERIOUS   CAVE  23 

"Haven't  you  always  gotten  your  share?"  de 
manded  Pike. 

"I  suppose  I  have." 

"And  haven't  we  given  you  the  information 
whenever  any  valuable  freight  was  coming  this 
way  ?"  put  in  the  man  called  Merrick. 

"Yes,  and  got  your  full  share  of  the  proceeds, 
while  I  ran  the  risk,"  growled  Dangler.  "It's 
getting  dangerous — I'm  going  to  quit — after  the 
next  big  haul,"  went  on  the  man  with  the  pipe. 

"All  right — as  you  wish,"  answered  Merrick. 
"I  wish  this  storm  would  let  up.  The  road  will 
be  something  fierce  for  our  runabout." 

"And  bad  for  my  wagon,"  growled  Dangler  in 
return. 

The  boys  listened  to  the  conversation  with  deep 
interest.  The  reference  to  their  uncle  amazed 
them,  and  they  wondered  what  the  two  men  in 
the  runabout  had  in  mind  to  do.  By  their  talk  it 
was  evident  they  meant  to  accomplish  something 
unlawful. 

"They  are  going  to  play  Uncle  Randolph  some 
trick,"  whispered  Sam.  "We  must  get  home  and 
warn  him." 

"What  we  ought  to  do  is  to  have  the  whole 
crowd  arrested,"  answered  Tom.  "They  are  all 
implicated  in  the  theft  of  freight" 

"That's  the  talk,"  said  Dick.    "The  question  is, 


24  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

How  can  we  do  it  ?    We  are  no  match  for  those 
three  men,  and  more  than  likely  they  are  armed." 

After  this  the  three  men  conversed  in  such  a 
low  tone  the  boys  could  not  hear  a  quarter  of 
what  was  said.  But  they  learned  enough  to  know 
that  Merrick  and  Pike  were  going  to  meet  their 
uncle  and  play  him  false  in  some  way,  and  they 
heard  the  words  "traction  bonds"  and  "coupons" 
several  times. 

"Uncle  Randolph  had  ten  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  traction  company  bonds,"  said  Dick. 
"He  bought  them  only  a  short  while  ago.  They 
pay  five  and  a  half  per  cent,  interest  and  he 
thought  them  a  first-class  investment." 

"Oh,  we'll  have  to  warn  him,"  said  Sam.  "He 
is  so  open-hearted  he  would  trust  most  anybody." 

Merrick  had  descended  from  the  runabout  and 
gone  out  of  the  cave.  Now  he  came  back,  said 
something  to  the  others,  and  started  up  the  auto. 
In  another  moment  he  had  the  machine  turned 
around.  Then  it  spun  out  of  the  cave  and  down 
a  fairly  good  road  in  the  direction  of  Carwell. 
The  man  named  Dangler  followed  the  runabout 
to  the  road  and  watched  it  disappear  around  a, 
turn  bordered  by  trees.  The  storm  was  now  roll 
ing  away  to  the  westward  and  the  rain  had  ceased. 

"They  have  gone!"  cried  Tom.     "Where  to?" 

"Perhaps  to  our   farm — to   see   Uncle  Ran- 


A   MYSTERIOUS   CAVE  25 

dolph,"  answered  Sam.     "We  ought  to  follow 
them  as  quickly  as  we  can." 

"I  think  we  had  better  capture  the  fellow  le^t 
behind,"  said  Dick.  "We  ought  to  be  able  <£i, 
do  it" 

"That's  the  talk,"  said  Tom.  "Sure  we  can 
do  it,  being  three  to  one." 

Dangler  watched  the  runabout  and  then  gazed 
up  and  down  the  mountain  for  several  minutes. 
Then  of  a  sudden  he  started  in  a  direction  oppo 
site  to  that  taken  by  the  machine. 

"He  is  going  away!"  cried  Sam. 

"Come  on  after  him!"  called  his  big  brother, 
and  ran  from  the  cave  with  the  others  at  his 
heels.  Just  as  he  did  this  Dangler  glanced  back 
and  saw  them. 

"Hey,  you !"  he  cried  in  consternation. 

"Stop !"  called  out  Dick.    "We  want  you." 

At  this  command  Dangler  was  more  amazed 
than  ever.  But  of  a  sudden  he  appeared  to  realize 
something  of  what  had  happened  and  commenced 
to  run. 

"Stop!"  cried  Tom  and  Sam,  but  at  this  the 
man  only  ran  the  faster. 

"Come  on — we've  got  to  catch  that  rascal!" 
exclaimed  Dick,  and  started  to  sprint.  The  others 
followed  as  quickly  as  they  could,  and  a  rapid 
thase  along  the  mountain  road  ensued.  But  if 


06  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

the  boys  could  run  so  could  the  freight  robber, 
and  he  made  the  best  possible  use  of  his  legs  until 
he  gained  a  side  trail.  Then  he  darted  into  this, 
and  when  the  Rover  boys  came  up  he  had  disap 
peared. 

"Where  is  he?"  panted  Sam. 

"He  took  to  this  path,  but  he  isn't  in  sight," 
answered  Dick.  He  was  almost  winded  himself. 

"Come  on,  he  must  be  somewhere  around,"  put 
in  Tom,  and  ran  down  the  path  several  hundred 
feet.  Then  he  tripped  over  a  fallen  log  and  went 
headlong  in  the  bushes  and  wet  grass.  He  got  up 
looking  tired  out  and  cross. 

"We've  missed  him,"  announced  Dick,  rather 
dismally.  "It's  a  pity,  too.  He  deserves  to  be 
put  under  arrest" 

"I  think  we  had  better  get  home  and  warn 
Uncle  Randolph,"  returned  Sam.  "If  we  don't 
there  is  no  telling  what  that  fellow  Merrick  and 
that  Pike  may  do." 


CHAPTER   IV 

AT  THE  FARM 

THE  others  considered  Sam's  advice  good,  and 
after  another  look  around  for  Dangler,  they 
turned  in  the  direction  of  home.  They  were  a 
good  three  miles  from  the  farm  and  had  to  cross 
the  river  above  the  falls,  thus  adding  half  a  mile 
more  to  the  journey.  It  was  wet  and  muddy 
walking  and  they  had  not  covered  over  a  mile 
when  Tom  called  a  halt. 

"I  am  about  fagged  out,"  he  announced. 
Wonder  if  we  can't  hire  a  buggy  at  the  next  farm 
house." 

"We  can  try  anyway,"  answered  Dick. 

Directly  after  crossing  the  river  they  came  to 
a  small  farmhouse,  and  walked  around  to  the 
kitchen,  where  they  saw  an  old  woman  shelling 
peas. 

"We  can't  let  you  have  any  carriage,"  she  said, 
"The  men  folks  are  to  town  and  they've  got  the 
horses." 

The  boys  were  about  to  turn  away  when  Dick 
thought  of  something. 

27 


£8  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"By  the  way,  do  you  know  a  man  named  Dang 
ler  ?"  he  asked. 

"Sure,  I  do,"  was  the  answer. 

"Does  he  live  around  here  ?" 

"I  guess  he  lives  where  he  pleases.  He  is  an 
old  bachelor  and  comes  and  goes  as  he  likes.  He 
used  to  have  a  cottage  down  the  pike,  but  it  burnt 
down  last  winter." 

"Then  you  haven't  any  idea  where  he  is  stop 
ping  now  ?" 

"No." 

"Do  you  know  a  man  named  Merrick  and  an 
other  man  named  Pike  ?"  went  on  the  eldest  Rover 
boy. 

At  this  the  old  woman  shook  her  head. 

"Never  heard  tell  of  them,"  she  said. 

"Has  this  Dangler  any  relatives  around  here?" 
asked  Tom. 

"None  that  I  know  of." 

"Do  you  know  what  kind  of  man  he  is  ?"  asked 
Sam. 

"I  never  talk  about  my  neighbors,"  answered 
,the  old  woman,  and  drew  up  her  thin  lips  and 
went  on  shelling  peas. 

Feeling  it  would  be  useless  to  ask  any  more 
Questions,  the  three  boys  journeyed  wearily  on  to 
the  next  farmhouse.  This  belonged  to  a  fat  Ger 
man  named  Gus  Schmidt,  who  knew  the  Rovers 
fairly  well. 


AT  THE  FARM  29 

"Yah,  I  let  you  haf  a  carriage  alretty,"  said 
Gus  Schmidt.  "Put  you  must  pring  him  back  to 
morrow,  hey?" 

"We  will,"  answered  Dick. 

"I  vos  hear  some  putty  goot  stories  apout  you 
Rofer  poys,"  went  on  Mr.  Schmidt,  while  he  was 
hooking  up  his  horse.  "You  vos  on  der  Missis 
sippi  Rifer,  hey?" 

"We  were,"  answered  Sam. 

"Und  you  vos  go  owid  on  der  Wains  und  catch 
some  counterfeiters,  hey?" 

"Yes,  we  had  something  to  do  with  it,"  came 
from  Tom. 

"Und  den  you  vos  go  py  der  Gulluf  of  Mexico 
alretty  und  find  a  steampoat  vos  has  nopotty  got 
on  it,"  pursued  Gus  Schmidt.  "Ach,  it  vos  von- 
derf ul  vot  vos  habben  to  somepody,  ain't  it  ?" 

"Didn't  you  ever  have  anything  happen  to  you, 
Mr.  Schmidt?"  asked  Sam. 

"Only  vonce,  und  dot  vos  enough.  I  peen  in 
New  York,  und  der  poys  call  me  names.  Den  I 
run  after  dem,  und  da  vos  go  py  a  cellar  full  of 
vater.  I  vos  run  on  a  poard,  und  der  poys  turn 
dot  poard " 

"And  you  fell  into  the  water,"  finished  Tom. 

"Not  much!  I  chumped  back  to  der  sidevalk,"1 
answered  Gus  Schmidt,  and  then  laughed  heartily 
at  his  little  joke. 

The  three  Rover  boys  were  soon  in  the  carriage 


ROVER  Borx  ON  THE  FARM 


and  on  the  way  to  the  f  arm.  The  horse  that  had 
been  loaned  to  them  was  a  speedy  animal  and 
they  made  good  time  despite  the  muddiness  of  the 
road.  The  brief  storm  had  been  a  severe  one,  and 
in  one  spot  the  roadbed  was  considerably  washed 
out. 

The  boys  took  the  carriage  around  to  the  barn 
and  left  it  in  charge  of  Jack  Ness,  the  man  of  all 
work.  Then  they  hurried  to  the  house. 

"Oh,  boys,  I  am  so  glad  that  you  are  back!" 
exclaimed  Mrs.  Rover,  on  seeing  them.  "I  sup 
pose  you  are  wet  through.  Better  dry  your  cloth 
ing  at  once,  or  change  them,  and  I'll  get  you  some 
hot  tea  to  drink." 

"We  are  all  right,  Aunt  Martha,"  answered 
Dick.  "We  were  under  shelter  during  the  worst 
of  the  storm.  Is  Uncle  Randolph  around?" 

"No,  he  went  to  Carwell  on  business.  I  am 
worried  about  him,  for  I  am  afraid  he  got  caught 
in  the  storm,  for  he  drove  over." 

"What  did  he  go  for?"  questioned  Tom, 
quickly. 

"Oh,  it  was  a  private  matter." 

"About  some  traction  company  bonds?"  asked 
Sam,  who  could  not  hold  back  his  curiosity. 

"Yes.  But  how  do  you  happen  to  know  about 
it?"  demanded  his  aunt,  in  astonishment. 

"We  found  something  out  to-day,  aunty,"  said 


AT  THE  FARM  31 

Dick.  "It's  a  queer  piece  of  business.  Do  you 
know  where  Uncle  Randolph  was  going?" 

"You  mean  in  Carwell?" 

"Yes." 

"I  think  to  the  hotel." 

"Hum,"  mused  the  eldest  of  the  Rover  bojs. 
"Wonder  if  I  can  get  him  on  the  telephone?"  For 
a  telephone  line  had  been  put  up  from  Oak  Run 
to  the  farm. 

"Why,  Dick,  is  there  anything  wrong?"  de 
manded  Mrs.  Rover,  turning  pale. 

"I  hope  not,  Aunt  Martha.  We'll  soon  know. 
Don't  worry,  please." 

"Your  uncle  was  very  much  disturbed  when  he 
went  away." 

"I  am  going  to  try  to  telephone  to  him  at  once," 
said  Dick. 

The  telephone  was  on  a  landing  of  the  stairs, 
where  the  bell  could  readily  be  heard  upstairs  and 
down,  and  Dick  lost  no  time  in  taking  down  the 
receiver  and  calling  up  the  office  at  Oak  Run. 

"I  want  to  get  the  hotel  at  Carwell,"  he  toid 
the  operator.  "This  is  685  W,"  he  added. 

"I  cannot  give  you  Carwell,"  was  the  answer. 

"Why  not?" 

"The  lightning  struck  down  some  of  our  poles 
and  the  line  is  out  of  commission." 

This  was  dismaying  news  and  for  the  moment 


32  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Dick  was  nonplussed.    Then  he  spoke  to  the  oper 
ator  again. 

"Can  you  reach  Farleytown?" 

"Yes,  but  the  line  from  Farleytown  to  Carwell 
is  down,  too,"  came  over  the  wire. 
'     "Can  you  reach  Deeming's  Corners  ?" 

"No.  Can't  get  to  Carwell  in  any  way  at  all," 
was  the  decided  answer,  and  Dick  hung  up  the 
receiver  much  crestfallen. 

"The  storm  has  knocked  the  telephone  service 
into  a  cocked  hat,"  he  explained  to  the  others. 
"The  only  way  for  us  to  reach  Carwell  is  to  drive 
there." 

"Then  let  us  do  that,  and  right  away!"  cried 
Tom,  who  had  been  talking  to  his  aunt.  "Uncle 
Randolph  took  those  ten  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  traction  company  bonds  with  him,  and  Aunt 
Martha  says  the  bonds  were  unregistered,  so  any 
body  could  use  them." 

"Do  you  think  somebody  is  going  to  steal  the 
bonds?"  asked  the  aunt. 

"Two  men  are  up  to  some  game, — that  is  as 
;much  as  we  know,"  said  Dick,  thinking  it  unwise 
jto  keep  his  aunt  in  the  dark  any  longer.     "And 
we  know  the  men  are  rascals,"  he  added. 

"Oh,  will  they — they  attack  your  uncle?" 

"I  don't  think  they  are  that  kind,"  said  Sam. 
"I  think  they'll  try  to  get  the  bonds  away  by  some 
slick  game." 


AT  THE  FARM 


33 


The  aunt  hated  to  see  the  boys  go  on  a  mission 
of  possible  peril  and  yet  she  wanted  to  have  her 
husband  warned.  The  lads  ran  down  to  the  barn 
and  had  Jack  Ness  hitch  up  a  fresh  team  to  a 
buckboard.  It  was  now  growing  dark. 

"Take  good  care  of  yourselves,"  cried  Mrs. 
f Rover,  as  they  drove  off.  "If  the  telephone  and 
telegraph  poles  are  down  on  the  road  see  that  you 
do  not  run  into  any  of  them." 

They  were  driving  to  the  gateway  of  the  big 
farm  when  they  saw  Alexander  Pop  running  after 
them,  flourishing  something  in  his  hand.  Aleck 
was  a  colored  man  who  had  once  worked  at  Put 
nam  Hall,  but  who  was  now  attached  to  the 
Rover  household. 

"I  was  jess  a-thinkin'  that  maybe  yo'  boys 
wasn't  armed,"  he  said.  "If  yo'  ain't,  don't  yo' 
want  dis  pistol?"  And  he  held  up  a  weapon  he 
had  purchased  while  on  the  river  trip  with  them. 

"I  didn't  think  there  would  be  any  shooting," 
answered  Dick.  "But  now  you've  brought  it,  I 
might  as  well  take  the  pistol  along,"  and  he  placed 
the  weapon  in  his  pocket. 

"Perhaps  yo'  would  like  to  hab  dis  chicken 
along?"  went  on  the  colored  man.  He  delighted 
to  be  with  the  Rover  boys  on  every  possible  occa 
sion. 

"No,  the  buckboard  is  crowded  now,"  answered 


34  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Dick.      "You  do  what  you  can  to  quiet  Mrs. 
Rover." 

"Yes,  tell  her  not  to  worry  about  us,"  added 
Tom. 

"And  don't  mention  tke  pistol,"  called  Sam,  as 
the  turnout  moved  on  again. 

After  leaving  the  vicinity  of  the  farm,  the  boys 
had  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles  to  cover.  Part  of 
the  road  lay  through  the  valley  which  had  given 
the  farm  its  name,  but  then  it  ran  up  and  over  a 
series  of  hills,  and  through  several  patches  of 
woods.  Under  the  trees  it  was  dark,  and  they 
had  to  slacken  their  speed  for  fear  of  accident. 

"Danger  ahead!"  cried  Sam  presently,  and 
Dick,  who  was  driving,  brought  the  team  to  a 
halt  Across  the  road  lay  an  uprooted  tree. 

"Can't  drive  around  that,"  announced  Sam, 
after  an  inspection.  "And  it  will  be  hard  work 
dragging  it  out  of  the  way." 

"We'll  drive  over  it,"  announced  Dick.  "Hold 
tight,  if  you  don't  want  to  be  bounced  off.'* 

He  called  to  the  horses,  and  the  team  moved 
forward  slowly.  They  had  not  been  out  of  the 
stable  for  several  days  and  were  inclined  to  dance 
and  prance.  They  stepped  in  among  the  tree 
branches  and  then  one  animal  reared  and  tried 
to  back. 

"Get  up  there,  Dan!"  cried  Dick.  "None  of 
that  tomfoolery !  Get  up,  I  say !" 


AT  THE  FARM  35 

The  other  horse  wanted  to  go  ahead,  and  he 
dragged  his  mate  deeper  into  the  tree  limbs. 
Then,  without  warning,  the  balky  animal  made 
a  leap,  cleared  the  tree,  and  started  down  the  road 
at  breakneck  speed. 

"Look  out,  the  team  is  running  away!"  yelled 
Sam,  and  then  stopped  short,  for  he  as  well  as 
the  others  were  in  danger  of  being  thrown  from 
the  buckboard. 


CHAPTER  V 

RANDOLPH   ROVER'S  STORY 

IT  was  a  time  of  peril,  and  all  of  the  Rover 
boys  realized  this  fully.  The  buckboard  was  a 
strong  one,  but  the  road  had  been  washed  out  so 
much  by  the  storm  that  it  was  very  uneven,  and 
the  jouncing  threatened  each  moment  to  land  one 
lad  or  another  out  on  his  head. 

"Whoa!  whoa!"  yelled  Dick,  and  did  his  best 
to  rein  in  the  team.  But,  as  mentioned  before, 
they  had  not  been  out  for  several  days  and  were 
consequently  fresh  and  inclined  to  keep  on.  Each 
had  the  bit  in  his  teeth,  so  pulling  on  the  lines  was 
of  little  avail. 

"If  we  don't  stop  soon  something  is  going  to 
happen,"  was  Tom's  comment,  and  scarcely  had 
he  spoken  when  they  went  down  into  a  rut  am^ 
Sam  was  flung  up  and  over  a  wheel  into  some 
brushwood.  Then  the  team  went  on  as  before. 

The  woods  left  behind,  they  came  to  a  large 
open  field,  where  the  ground  was  rather  soft. 

''Turn  in  here,  Dick,  if  you  can,"  cried  Tom. 
36 


RANDOLPH  ROVER'S  STORY  37 

"That  is  what  I  am  trying  to  do,"  answered 
the  eldest  Rover  boy,  pulling  on  one  rein  with 
might  and  main. 

At  first  the  horses  refused  to  leave  the  road,  but 
at  last  the  strain  on  the  one  rein  told  and  Dan 
swerved  to  the  right,  dragging  his  mate  with  him. 
As  the  wheels  of  the  buckboard  sank  into  the  soft 
soil  of  the  field  the  pulling  became  harder,  and  at 
last  the  horses  dropped  into  a  walk  and  were  then 
brought  to  a  stop  with  ease. 

"Wonder  if  Sam  was  hurt?"  were  Dick's  first 
words,  as  he  leaped  to  the  ground  and  ran  to  the 
heads  of  the  team  to  quiet  them. 

"He  went  out  in  a  hurry,  that's  sure,"  was 
Tom's  answer.  "Can  you  hold  them  now  ?" 

"Yes — the  fire  is  all  out  of  them." 

"Then  I'll  run  back  and  see  to  Sam."  And 
Tom  set  off  on  a  dog  trot  toward  the  spot  where 
the  mishap  to  his  younger  brother  had  occurred. 
He  found  Sam  sitting  on  a  rock  rubbing  his  left 
wrist. 

"Hurt  ?"  he  sang  out,  anxiously. 

"This  wrist  is  a  little  lame,  and  my  knee  is 
skinned,"  was  the  answer.  "Did  they  get  away 
and  throw  you  out?" 

"No,  Dick  managed  to  stop  them  by  turning 
into  a  soft  field.  It  is  lucky  you  didn't  break  your 
neck." 

"I  might  have  if  I  hadn't  tumbled  into  the 


38  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

bushes,  Tom.  Gracious,  how  the  buckboard  did 
jounce  up  and  down!" 

Limping  a  little  on  account  of  the  bruised  knee, 
Sam  followed  his  brother  down  the  road.  They 
found  Dick  had  led  the  team  from  the  field.  He, 
too,  was  glad  to  learn  Sam  was  not  seriously 
injured. 

"What's  to  do  now?"  asked  Tom.  "I  don't 
like  to  trust  that  team  much." 

"Oh,  they're  tamed  down  now,"  asserted  Dick. 
"I  am  sure  they  won't  want  to  run  away  again." 

"We  want  to  get  to  Carwell  as  soon  as  possible, 
but  we  don't  want  to  do  it  by  breaking  our  necks," 
went  on  the  fun-loving  Rover. 

Once  more  the  three  youths  got  on  the  buck- 
board  and  Dick  started  the  team.  The  fire  was 
now  all  out  of  them,  and  they  went  along  at  their 
regular  gait.  It  had  grown  so  dark  the  boys  had 
to  light  a  lantern  they  had  brought  along. 

"Listen!"  said  Sam  presently,  and  held  up  his 
hand.  From  out  of  the  darkness  they  heard  the 
steady  chug-chug  of  an  automobile.  It  seemed 
to  be  coming  toward  them. 

"Maybe  it's  the  runabout  with  those  two  men!" 
cried  Tom. 

"If  it  is,  let  us  try  to  stop  them,"  answered 
Dick. 

They  brought  the  team  to  a  halt  and  listened. 


RANDOLPH  ROVER'S  STORY  39 

For  a  few  seconds  the  chug-chug  came  closer, 
then  it  died  away  in  the  distance  on  their  left. 

"The  machine  must  have  takea  to  a  side  road/' 
was  Dick's  comment. 

"Yes,  and  we  may  as  well  go  on,"  answered 
,;Tom. 

Once  more  they  proceeded  on  their  way.  Less 
than  a  hundred  yards  were  covered  when  they 
reached  the  side  road.  In  the  muddy  roadway 
the  tracks  of  the  rubber  tires  of  the  automobile 
were  plainly  to  be  seen. 

"If  we  were  sure  they  were  the  men  we  migrv.' 
go  after  them,"  said  Sam. 

"We'd  not  catch  them  with  the  horses,"  an 
swered  Dick. 

"And  it  might  be  another  machine,"  added 
Tom.  "There  are  plenty  of  them  in  Carwell." 

They  were  now  within  two  miles  of  the  town 
and  the  farmhouses  were  becoming  more  numer 
ous.  Just  as  they  struck  a  paved  street,  Tom  ut 
tered  an  exclamation : 

"Here  comes  Uncle  Randolph  now!" 

He  pointed  ahead  to  where  a  street  light  fell 
on  a  horse  and  buggy.  On  the  seat  of  the  latter 
sat  Randolph  Rover,  driving  along  contentedly. 

"Hullo,  Uncle  Randolph !"  sang  out  Dick,  and 
brought  the  buckboard  to  a  halt. 

"Why,  Dick!"  exclaimed  the  uncle,  staring  at 


40  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

the  three  boys  in  surprise.     "What  brings  yon 
here  this  time  of  night?" 

"We  came  to  find  you,  Uncle  Randolph,"  said 
Tom,  and  added:    "Are  your  traction  company  , 
bonds  safe?" 

"My  bonds?  What  do  you  know  of  my 
bonds?"  And  now  the  buggy  halted  beside  the 
buckboard. 

"We  know  two  men  are  after  them,"  said  Sam. 

"Oh,  I  thought  that  was  a  secret,"  answered 
Mr.  Rover. 

"But  did  you  see  the  men?"  asked  Dick,  impa 
tiently. 

"Oh,  yes,  and  I  have  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
being  swindled,"  answered  the  uncle,  calmly. 

"Oh,  then  you  escaped,"  said  Dick,  and  he  and 
his  brothers  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"Yes,  I  escaped,"  answered  Randolph  Rover. 
"It  was  very  kind  of  Mr.  Jardell  to  come  to  me 
as  he  did,"  he  went  on. 

"Mr.  Jardell  ?"  asked  Tom.     "Who  is  he  ?" 

"Why,  the  treasurer  of  the  traction  company." 

"Then  you  haven't  seen  a  man  named  Merrick 
and  another  named  Pike?"  asked  Sam. 

"Why,  no.    Who  are  they?" 

"Two  rascals  who  were  up  to  some  game.  We 
think  they  were  after  your  traction  company 
bonds." 

"Ha !  perhaps — But  no,  that  couldn't  be,'*  mur- 


RANDOLPH  ROVER'S  STORY  41 

mured  Mr.  Rover,  wiping  off  the  spectacles  he 
wore.  "I — er — I  really  do  not  understand  this, 
boys." 

"Tell  us  what  you've  been  doing,  uncle,  and 
then  we'll  tell  what  we  know,"  said  Dick. 

"Um!  Well,  you  know  that  some  time  ago  I' 
invested  in  ten  thousand  dollars  worth  of  traction 
company  bonds — got  them  through  an  agent  in 
New  York." 

"Yes." 

"Well,  about  a  week  ago  I  received  a  private 
letter  from  Mr.  Jardell,  of  the  traction  company, 
stating  that  there  was  something  wrong  with  the 
bonds.  Some  plates  had  been  stolen  and  counter 
feit  bonds  printed." 

"Yes." 

"I  was  asked  to  keep  quiet  about  the  matter,  for 
if  the  facts  became  generally  known  the  public 
would  become  frightened  and  the  bonds  would 
go  down  in  the  stock  market.  Mr.  Jardell  said 
he  would  meet  me  at  Carwell  and  have  the  printer 
look  at  my  bonds  and  find  out  if  they  were  gen 
uine  or  not." 

"And  what  did  you  do  then?"  asked  Dick,  who 
began  to  smell  a  mouse,  as  the  saying  goes. 

"I  sent  Mr.  Jardell  word  I  would  meet  him  at 
the  Carwell  hotel  to-day.  We  met,  and  he  and 
his  printer,  a  man  named  Grimes,  said  the  bonds 
I  possessed  were  counterfeits." 


42  ROVER  BOYS  Off  THE  FARM 

"And  then  what?" 

"Of  course  I  was  very  much  distressed,"  went 
on  Randolph  Rover,  calmly.  "I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  But  Mr.  Jardell  was  very  nice  about 
it.  He  said  he  would  take  the  bonds  and  get  the 
company  to  issue  good  ones  in  their  place.  He 
gave  me  a  receipt  for  them,  and  I  am  to  have  the 
good  bonds  next  week." 

"Why  should  he  give  you  good  bonds  for  bad 
ones?"  said  Tom,  who,  like  Dick,  was  almost  cer 
tain  something  was  wrong. 

"I  asked  that  question,  too,  Thomas,  but  he 
said  the  reputation  of  his  company  was  at  stake. 
He  did  not  want  the  public  at  large  to  know  that 
bogus  bonds  were  on  the  market." 

"Uncle  Randolph,  do  you  know  this  Mr.  Jar- 
dell  personally?"  asked  Dick. 

"Why — er — not  exactly.     But  his  letters " 

"How  did  he  look?" 

As  well  as  he  was  able  Mr.  Rover  described  the 
man  and  also  his  companion.  The  boys  ex 
changed  glances. 

"Merrick  and  Pike,"  muttered  Tom. 

•"What  is  that  you  say,  Thomas  ?" 

"We  think  those  men  were  swindlers,"  said 
feam. 

"Swindlers!  Oh,  my  dear  Samuel,  impossi 
ble!"  cried  Randolph  Rover  aghast.  "Why,  they 
were  very  nice  gentlemen,  very  nice.  They  asked 


RANDOLPH  ROVER'S  STORY  43 

me  how  my  scientific  farming  was  getting  along, 
and  both  had  read  my  article  in  the  Review  on 
the  grafting  of  grape  vines,  and " 

"But  we  know  these  chaps,"  said  Dick,  "and 
they  are  called  Merrick  and  Pike." 

"And  they  talked  about  getting  the  best  of 
you,"  added  Tom.  "That  is  why  we  followed 
you  to  Carwell.  Where  are  the  men  now  ?" 

"They  have  gone  away.     But " 

"Were  they  in  a  green  runabout — an  auto  run 
about?" 

"They  had  a  runabout,  yes.  I  do  not  remember 
what  color  it  was." 

"The  same  fellows !"  cried  Dick.  "Uncle  Ran 
dolph,  unless  we  are  very  much  mistaken,  you 
have  been  tricked,  swindled!  They  have  robbed 
»rou  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  worth  of  bonds!'* 


CHAPTER  VI 


IT  took  Randolph  Rover  several  minutes  to 
comprehend  the  various  statements  made  by  the 
boys.  That  he  had  really  been  swindled  by  such 
nicely-spoken  men  as  he  had  met  at  the  Carwell 
hotel  seemed  extraordinary  to  him. 

"I  understand  the  bonds  were  not  registered," 
said  Dick. 

"That  is  true,"  groaned  his  uncle. 

"Then  anybody  could  use  them." 

"Yes,  although  I  have  the  numbers, — on  a  sheet 
in  my  desk  at  home." 

"Well,  that  will  make  it  more  difficult  for  the 
rascals  to  dispose  of  them,"  said  Sam. 

"I'd  like  to  catch  that  Merrick  and  that  Pike, 

,and  punch  their  heads   for  them,"   commented 

'Tom.     It  angered  him  exceedingly  to  see  how 

readily  his  open-minded  relative  had  fallen  into 

the  swindlers'  trap. 

"But  there  may  be  some  mistake,"  said  Ran 
dolph  Rover,   in  a  forlorn  tone.     "Would  that 
Merrick  dare  to  impersonate  Mr.  Jardell?" 
44 


WAITING  FOR  NEWS  45 

"Swindlers  will  do  anything,"  answered  Sam. 

"We  can  make  sure  of  that  point  by  sending 
word  to  the  traction  company  offices,"  answered 
Dick.  "You  are  sure  Mr.  Jardell  is  the  treas 
urer?" 

"Yes— Mr.  Andrew  D.  Jardell." 

"Let  us  go  back  to  town  and  see  if  we  can 
catch  him  by  long  distance  'phone  or  by  tele 
graph." 

Shaking  his  head  sadly,  Randolph  Rover 
turned  his  buggy  around  and  followed  the  boys 
to  the  central  office  of  the  telephone  company. 
Here  all  was  activity  on  account  of  the  broken- 
down  wires,  but  communications  were  being 
gradually  resumed.  They  looked  into  the  tele 
phone  book,  and  at  last  got  a  connection  which,  a 
few  minutes  later,  put  them  into  communication 
with  Andrew  D.  Jardell's  private  residence  in  the 
city. 

"Is  Mr.  Jardell  at  home?"  asked  Dick,  who 
was  doing  the  telephoning. 

"Mr.  Jardell  is  away,"  was  the  answer. 

"Is  he  at  or  near  Carwell,  New  York  state?" 

"No,  he  is  in  Paris,  and  has  been  for  two 
weeks." 

"You  are  sure  of  this?" 

"Yes." 

"Who  are  you?" 

"I  am  Mrs.  Jardell.     Who  are  you?" 


46  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"My  name  is  Richard  Rover.  My  uncle,  Ran 
dolph  Rover,  has  been  swindled  out  of  some  trac 
tion  company  bonds  by  a  man  who  said  he  was 
Mr.  Jardell." 

"Mercy  me!  You  don't  say  so!  Well,  my 
husband  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  you  may  be 
sure.  He  went  to  London  first  and  then  to  Paris, 
and  in  a  day  or  two  he  is  to  start  for  Switzerland. 
His  health  is  very  poor  and  the  doctor  said  he 
needed  the  trip." 

Some  more  talk  followed,  and  Mrs.  Jardell  ad 
vised  Dick  to  communicate  with  the  traction 
company  at  once,  and  he  said  he  would  do  so. 

"It  wasn't  Mr.  Jardell  at  all,  Uncle  Randolph," 
said  the  youth,  as  he  hung  up  the  receiver.  "The 
whole  thing  was  a  cleverly-planned  swindle,  and 
unless  you  can  get  the  bonds  back  you'll  be  out 
the  money." 

At  this  announcement  Mr.  Rover  nearly  col 
lapsed — for  he  was  rather  a  retired  man,  and  had 
had  little  to  do  in  a  business  way  since  his  trip  to 
Africa  with  the  boys,  as  related  in  "The  Rover 
Boys  in  the  Jungle."  He  did  not  know  what  to 
do,  and  stood  rubbing  his  hands  nervously. 

"The  swindlers !"  he  murmured.  "Really,  it  is 
-getting  so  that  nobody  can  be  trusted!" 

"The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  send  word  to 
the  various  towns  to  stop  the  runabout  with  the 
two  men  in  it  on  sight  and  have  the  rascals  held 


WAITING  FOR  NEWS  47 

by  the  authorities,"  said  Dick,  who  felt  he  must 
take  charge  of  affairs. 

"That's  the  talk !"  cried  Tom,  "and  the  sooner 
we  get  at  it  the  better." 

"Let  us  find  out  where  that  side  road  leads  to," 
added  Sam,  "I  mean  the  road  on  which  we  heard 
the  auto." 

Inside  of  an  hour  various  messages  had  been 
sent  by  telephone  and  telegraph.  It  was  now 
growing  late  and  the  Rovers  hardly  knew  what 
to  do  next.  From  their  uncle  the  boys  got  the 
whole  tale  concerning  the  bonds,  but  the  new 
light  shed  on  the  subject  did  not  help  matters. 

They  also  told  the  authorities  about  the  cave 
and  the  boxes  stored  there,  and  some  men  were 
at  once  sent  off  to  investigate  and  take  possession 
of  whatever  could  be  found. 

"I  think  some  of  us  ought  to  go  home,"  said 
Sam.  "Aunt  Martha  won't  go  to  bed  until  we 
get  back,  and  she  will  be  greatly  worried." 

It  was  finally  decided  that  Tom  and  Dick 
should  remain  at  the  Carwell  hotel  over  night  and 
Sam  and  his  uncle  should  go  home  in  the  buggy. 
The  team  was  put  up  at  the  hotel  barn,  and  then 
all  hands  went  to  the  dining  room  for  a  late  sup 
per. 

""I'm  as  hungry  as  two  bears,"  announced  Torn 

"Well,  I  shan't  say  no  to  a  good  feed,"  an 
swered  Sam. 


48  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

Randolph  Rover  could  eat  but  little.  Now  that 
he  realized  what  had  occurred,  he  unbraided  him 
self  bitterly  for  having  been  so  deluded. 

"They  talked  about  scientific  farming  just  to 
-get  me  into  good  humor,"  he  said,  bitterly.  "I 
see  it  all!  Oh,  if  I  can  only  get  my  hands  on 
'them!" 

After  Mr.  Rover  and  Sam  had  departed,  Dick 
and  Tom  wandered  around  the  hotel  and  the 
vicinity  for  three  hours.  They  anxiously  awaited 
some  message  regarding  the  two  swindlers,  but 
nothing  came.  Then,  worn  out  by  the  strenuous 
day  they  had  put  in,  they  went  to  bed  and  slept 
soundly  until  morning. 

Before  having  breakfast  they  asked  for  mes 
sages.  There  was  one  from  a  village  called 
Bahan,  saying  a  green  runabout  with  two  men 
had  passed  through  there  about  midnight.  But 
the  men  had  not  been  captured,  and  it  was  not 
known  what  had  become  of  them. 

At  noon  the  telephone  line  between  Oak  Run 
and  Carwell  was  in  working  order  once  more, 
and  the  boys  sent  word  home.  Then  they  left 
directions  at  the  hotel,  so  that  any  messages  com 
ing  in  might  be  transmitted  to  the  Rover  farm. 

"Well,  I  never!"  cried  Dick,  suddenly. 

"What  now?"  asked  his  brother. 

"That  freight  thief,  and  that  stuff  in  the 
cave " 


WAITING  FOR  NEWS 


49 


"Humph !  it  slipped  my  mind  entirely.  I  was 
thinking  only  of  Uncle  Randolph's  bonds." 

"Let  us  find  out  if  anything  has  been  done." 

At  the  local  police  headquarters  they  found 
that  a  wagon  had  just  come  in,  loaded  with  the 
three  full  boxes  of  goods  located  at  the  cave.  A 
search  was  still  in  progress  for  Dangler,  but  so 
far  he  had  not  been  located. 

"This  clears  up  the  mystery  of  the  freight 
thefts,"  said  an  officer  to  the  boys.  "I  only  hope 
we  can  get  our  hands  on  Bill  Dangler." 

"You  know  him?"  asked  Dick. 

"Oh,  yes.  Years  ago  he  used  to  work  for  the- 
freight  division  of  the  railroad." 

"Do  you  know  anything  of  this  Merrick  and 
the  fellow  called  Pike?" 

"No,  but  our  idea  is  that  the  three  men  were 
in  the  deal  together.  Probably  this  Merrick  and 
this  Pike  pulled  off  this  affair  of  the  traction 
company  bonds  as  a  side  issue." 

"Have  the  freight  robberies  been  large  ?"  asked 
Sam. 

"Not  so  large  at  one  time,  but  they  have  been 
going  on  for  months,  and  the  total  from  four  dif 
ferent  stations  along  the  line  foots  up  to  a  good 
many  thousand  dollars." 

"Well,  I  hope  we  catch  all  three  of  the  men — 
and  any  others  who  may  be  in  league  with  them," 
said  Dick,  and  then  he  and  Tom  walked  off.  A 


50  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

little  later  they  were  on  the  buckboard  and  bound 
for  home. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  farm  they  found  that 
their  uncle  had  sent  a  long  letter  to  the  officers 
of  the  traction  company,  relating  in  full  what  had 
occurred.  In  return  the  officials  of  the  concern, 
said  they  would  put  a  private  detective  on  the 
case,  and  this  was  done.  But  weeks  went  by  and 
nothing  was  seen  or  heard  of  Merrick  and  Pike, 
and  what  had  become  of  the  missing  bonds  re 
mained  a  mystery. 

"I  am  anxious  to  take  a  look  at  that  cave  where 
the  stolen  freight  was  stored,"  said  Sam  one  day. 
"Supposing  we  drive  to  it  ?" 

"That  will  suit  me,"  answered  Dick.  "I  want 
to  learn  about  something  else — that  red  tin  box 
I  saw  hanging  from  a  tree." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  had  forgotten  about  that,"  put  in 
Tom.  "Well,  shall  we  walk  or  drive  over?*' 

It  was  decided  to  drive  as  far  as  the  cave,  and 
not  knowing  how  long  they  would  be  gone,  the 
boys  took  a  lunch  along. 

"Now,  take  care  of  yourselves,"  warned  Ran 
dolph  Rover.  "Don't  fall  into  any  more  holes.". 

"We'll  try  to  watch  out !"  sang  out  Tom.  j 

Then  Dick  cracked  the  whip,  and  off  the  team 
started  at  a  good  pace,  the  eldest  Rover,  how 
ever,  holding  them  well  under  control.  It  was  a 
clear  and  beautiful  day.  The  boys  did  not  dream 
of  the  odd  adventure  in  store  for  them. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  STRANGE)  LETTER  BOX 

**IT  won't  be  long  now  before  we'll  have  to  get 
back  to  Putnam  Hall,"  observed  Sam,  as  they 
drove  along.  "Dear  old  school!  How  I  love 


"It's  too  bad  that  we  are  getting  too  old  to  go 
there,"  said  Tom.  "But  we  can't  be  boys  always." 

"I  shall  be  glad  to  see  the  other  fellows  again," 
came  from  Dick. 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think?"  declared  Tom. 
"I  think  the  Putnam  Hall  cadets  are  the  finest  lot 
of  boys  in  the  world  !" 

Throwing  bouquets  at  yourself,  Tom?"  said 
Sara,  with  a  laugh. 

"Well,  don't  you  agree  with  me?" 

**I  certainly  do,  Sam,  and  Captain  Putnam  is 
the  best  teacher  in  the  world.  My,  but  won't  we 
have  fun  when  we  get  back  !" 

"We'll  have  to  have  a  feast  in  honor  of  our 
return,"  said  Dick,  and  smiled  that  quiet  smile  of 
his  which  meant  so  much. 

61 


•52  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

The  distance  to  the  cave  was  soon  covered, 
and  the  boys  tied  their  team  to  a  tree  in  that 
vicinity.  They  went  inside  and  found  that  every 
thing,  even  to  the  empty  boxes,  had  been  taken 
away.  The  place  had  been  explored  by  a  number 
of  curiosity  seekers. 

"It  is  queer  that  this  cave  wasn't  discovered 
before,"  was  Dick's  comment,  after  they  had 
spent  half  an  hour  in  walking  around. 

"Perhaps  the  opening  to  the  road  wasn't  so 
large  formerly,"  suggested  Tom.  "Dangler  may 
have  enlarged  it,  so  he  could  drive  in." 

"That  is  true.  Well,  it  will  be  a  regular  picnic 
place  after  this.  Its  fame  will  spread  for  miles 
around."  And  Dick  was  right,  and  the  cave  is  a 
well-known  spot  in  that  portion  of  New  York 
state  to  this  day. 

The  boys  had  brought  with  them  two  electric 
pocket  lights,  as  they  are  called — lights  they  had 
purchased  while  on  their  river  outing — and  with 
these  turned  on  they  walked  to  the  extreme  rear 
of  the  cave  and  along  the  various  passageways 
running  up  the  mountainside. 

"Here  is  where  we  dropped  in,"  said  Dkk, 
pointing  out  the  spot.  < 

"I  wish  we  could  drop  out — and  land  up  on 
the  mountain  outside,"  returned  his  youngest 
brother.  "Then,  maybe,  you  could  locate  that 
tin  lunch  box,  or  whatever  it  was." 


A  STRANGE  LETTER  BOX  53 

"I'd  get  up, 

Very  soon 
If  I  had, 

A  big  balloon  !  " 

sang  out  Tom,  merrily.  "But  as  there  doesn't 
seem  to  be  a  balloon  handy,  what's  the  matter 
'  with  trying  to  climb  up?"  he  added. 

"And  pull  down  several  tons  of  dirt  and  rock 
on  your  head,"  said  Dick.  "Better  go  slow.  We 
already  know  how  treacherous  these  holes  are. 
You'll  get  out  of  one  by  getting  into  another  that's 
worse." 

"I  brought  a  lariat  along,"  said  Sam. 

"A  lariat?"  queried  the  others. 

"Sure, — the  one  I  bought  when  we  were  out 
west.  I  thought  we  might  use  it  for  climbing 
purposes.  It  is  light  but  strong,  and  we  can  lasso 
a  tree  or  stump  up  there  with  it." 

"Hurrah !  Sam  has  solved  the  problem  of  how 
the  Rover  boys  shall  rise  in  the  world !"  exclaimed 
Tom,  gaily.  "Sam,  try  your  skill  by  all  means." 
,  "Show  me  the  tree  or  stump  and  I  will,"  an 
swered  his  brother  readily. 

As  well  as  they  were  able,  they  crawled  from 
one  part  of  the  hole  to  a  spot  that  was  somewhat 
higher.  Then  they  found  a  projecting  rock  above 
them  and  Sam  threw  the  noose  of  his  lariat  over 
this. 


54  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"Will  it  hold?"  queried  Dick.  "You  don't 
want  to  try  to  climb  up  and  fall." 

With  caution  Sam  pulled  on  the  lariat.  It  held, 
and  he  went  up  hand  over  hand,  for  he  was  a  fair 
athlete.  Then  his  brothers  followed.  They  now 
stood  on  a  ledge  of  rock,  and  the  top  of  the  hole 
was  still  twelve  feet  above  them. 

"There  is  a  small  tree,  Sam,"  said  Tom,  look 
ing  upward.  "If  you  can  lasso  that  I  think  we'll 
be  all  right/' 

Once  more  the  youngest  Rover  started  to  use 
(he  lariat.  As  it  swung  upward  it  missed  the  tree 
and  swished  out  of  sight  over  the  edge  of  the 
hole. 

"Ouch !"  came  the  unexpected  cry  from  above. 
"Oh,  my  eye!" 

"Hullo!  you've  lashed  somebody!"  ejaculated 
Dick. 

"I  didn't  know  there  was  anybody  up  there," 
answered  Sam,  as  the  noose  of  the  lasso  slipped 
downward. 

The  three  Rover  boys  looked  upward.  They 
heard  a  hasty  movement  in  the  bushes  and  caught 
a  brief  glimpse  of  a  man's  face.  On  the  instant 
the  man  disappeared,  muttering  something  to 
himself. 

"It  was  Dangler !"  ejaculated  Dick. 

"Are  you  sure?"  asked  both  of  the  others,  in 
a  breath. 


A  STRANGE  LETTER  BOX  55 

"Almost  positive," 

Dick  had  scarcely  spoken  the  last  words  when 
down  into  the  hole  came  a  shower  of  dirt  and 
stones,  shoved  over  the  edge  above.  The  boys 
were  struck  by  the  stones  and  got  some  of  the  dirt 
in  their  eyes.  Then  down  came  a  second  mass  of 
the  same  sort. 

"Sto — stop  that!"  spluttered  Tom,  when  he 
could  speak.  "Do  you  want  to  kill  us?" 

There  was  no  answer,  but  down  came  more 
dirt  and  stones,  until  the  boys  were  almost  cov 
ered.  What  to  do  they  did  not  know,  until  Dick 
suggested  they  drop  from  the  ledge  and  seek 
safety  in  the  cave.  As  they  went  down,  a  fair- 
sized  rock  followed,  scraping  Tom's  shoulder  and 
causing  him  to  utter  a  sharp  cry  of  pain. 

"Are  you  hurt,  Tom  ?"  asked  his  two  brothers. 

"Oh,  it  isn't  much,"  panted  Tom.  "But  I  wish 
I  could  get  my  hands  on  that  rascal,  that's  all !" 

"I  am  sure  now  that  it  must  be  Dangler,"  said 
Dick.  "Nobody  else  around  here  would  try  to 
injure  us.  He  is  mad  because  we  have  exposed 
him.  He  must  know  the  officers  of  the  law  are 
looking  for  him." 

"I  wish  we  could  catch  the  rascal,"  muttered 
Tom. 

"Supposing  we  climb  the  mountain  from  the 
outside  ?"  suggested  Sam.  "It  is  a  perfectly  clear 
day  and  is  early  yet.  Well  know  enough  to  look 


•56  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

out  for  pitfalls.  If  we  can  catch  this  Dangler  the 
three  of  us  ought  to  be  able  to  manage  him/' 

"If  we  are  going  to  try  anything  like  that  we 
want  to  hurry,"  returned  Dick.  "He  won't  re 
main  in  this  locality  long — now  he  knows  he  is 
discovered." 

"Maybe  he  thinks  we  didn't  see  him,"  came 
from  Tom. 

"Well,  that  will  be  in  our  favor.  But  he'll 
know  somebody  will  be  after  him,  for  throwing 
down  the  dirt  and  stones." 

Having  eaten  a  hasty  lunch  and  washed  it  down 
with  water  from  a  nearby  spring,  the  three  lads 
began  the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  This  was  hard 
work  and  caused  them  to  perspire  freely. 

"I'm  glad  I'm  not  fat,"  said  Tom.  "If  I  was 
I'd  be  winded  sure." 

"I  think  we'd  better  keep  quiet  as  soon  as  we 
veach  the  vicinity  of  the  holes,"  cautioned  Dick. 

Half  an  hour  of  hard  climbing  brought  the 
boys  to  the  vicinity  where  they  had  first  fallen 
into  the  holes  leading  to  the  cave,  and  then  they 
advanced  cautiously  and  in  almost  absolute 
silence.  They  stopped  to  listen  several  times,  but 
heard  nothing  but  the  calls  of  some  birds  and  the 
trickling  of  water  over  the  rocks. 

Arriving  at  the  top  of  the  hole  from  where  the 
Jirt  and  stoneb  bad  been  thrown,  they  gazed 
•round  with  interest  Where  the  soil  was  soft 


A  STRANGE  LETTER  BOX  57 

they  could  see  the  footprints  of  shoes  much  larger 
than  those  they  themselves  wore. 

"Here  is  his  trail,  going  away,"  said  Dick, 
after  a  close  examination. 

"There  is  your  tin  box!"  cried  Sam,  pointing 
to  the  object,  still  dangling  from  a  distant  tree. 

"Wait  till  I  see  what  is  in  it,"  answered  his  big 
brother.  "It  won't  take  but  a  minute  or  two." 

"Beware  of  holes!"  cautioned  Tom. 

Feeling  his  way  through  the  brushwood,  Dick 
approached  the  dangling  tin  box.  It  was  a  small 
affair  and  now  hung  open.  He  felt  certain  in  his 
mind  that  when  he  had  seen  it  before  it  had  been 
closed. 

The  box  proved  to  be  empty  and  Dick  was, 
somehow,  disappointed.  He  glanced  on  the 
ground  and  saw  a  number  of  bits  of  paper,  some 
old  looking  and  some  new.  He  picked  up  some 
of  the  bits  and  saw  they  had  been  written  on  in 
pencil,  but  the  words  or  parts  of  words  were  un 
decipherable. 

"Well,  what  do  you  make  of  it?"  questioned 
Sam,  as  he  and  Tom  came  up. 

"I  think  I  know  what  this  is,"  answered  Dick 

"What?" 

"A  sort  of  a  private  post-office.  Somebody 
was  in  the  habit  of  leaving  messages  here,  and 
Dangler  or  somebody  else  got  the  messages  from 
time  to  time." 


CHAPTER   VIII 

DAYS  ON  THE  FARM 


"I  BELIEVE  you  are  right/'  said  Tom,  after  he, 
too,  had  looked  over  some  of  the  bits  of  paper 
strewn  around.  "Here  is  the  word  'box'  and 
here  is  the  word  'Saturday.'  ' 

"Yes,  and  here  are  the  words,  'fast  freight,'  ' 
added  Sam,  "This  was  nothing  more  than  a  let 
ter  box  for  the  freight  thieves." 

"But  why  was  it  placed  here?"  questioned 
Dick.  "It's  a  very  out-of-the-way  place  and  hard 
to  get  to." 

"Maybe  somebody  had  to  come  this  way/'  an 
swered  Tom.  "See,  here  is  something  of  a  trail." 

"Yes,  and  here  are  those  same  big  footprints  !" 
exclaimed  Sam.  "For  all  we  know  they  may 
lead  to  some  house  or  hut  on  the  mountainside." 

Having  picked  up  the  majority  of  the  bits  of 
paper  and  put  them  in  their  pockets  for  future 
examination,  the  three  Rover  boys  followed  the 
path  or  trail  they  had  discovered.  It  led  along 
the  mountainside  to  where  there  was  a  small  clear 
ing,  backed  up  by  a  series  of  rocks  from  which 

58 


LAST  DAYS  ON  THE  FARM  59 

a  spring  gushed  forth,  sparkling  brightly  in  the 
sunshine. 

"I'd  like  to  get  another  drink,"  said  Sam;  "I 
am  terribly  thirsty  to-day." 

<fWait!"  warned  Dick,  and  caught  his  young-^ 
est  brother  by  the  arm. 

"What's  up,  Dick." 

"I  see  a  log  cabin — over  yonder,  among  the 
trees." 

"Yes,  and  I  see  Dangler!"  yelled  Tom,  sud 
denly.  "There  he  goes,  with  a  big  bundle  over 
his  shoulder!"  And  he  pointed  to  the  rear  of  the 
log  cabin.  A  man  was  just  disappearing  behind 
a  fringe  of  brushwood.  The  bundle  he  carried 
appeared  to  be  tied  up  in  a  horse  blanket.  He 
was  running  as  hard  as  he  could. 

For  a  moment  the  boys  did  not  know  what  to 
do.  Then  they  ran  to  the  cabin  and  entered.  It 
contained  but  one  room,  and  this  they  soon  dis 
covered  was  deserted.  In  the  chimney  a  fire  was 
smouldering,  and  the  remains  of  a  meal  lay  scat 
tered  over  a  box  that  did  duty  as  a  table. 

"This  must  have  been  Dangler's  hangout,"  was 
Dick's  comment.  "He  must  have  come  back  for 
his  things." 

"Yes,  and  this  explains  why  the  queer  letter 
box  was  stationed  back  there,"  said  Tom. 

"Aren't  you  going  to  try  to  catch  him  ?"  asked 
Sam,  impatiently. 


60  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"To  be  sure,"  answered  Dick,  and  rushed  out, 
and  the  others  after  him. 

"Keep  back  there !"  they  heard  Dangler  cry,  as 
they  appeared  on  the  trail  back  of  the  log  cabin. 
"Keep  back,  or  it  will  be  the  worse  for  you !" 

"Stop !"  called  Dick.  "You  might  as  well  give 
up  Dangler;  you  are  bound  to  be  caught  some 
time." 

"Not  much!  I  am  armed  and  I  warn  you  to 
keep  back,"  answered  the  freight  thief,  and  then 
a  bend  of  the  trail  hid  him  from  view. 

"Do  you  think  he'd  dare  to  shoot?"  asked  Tom. 

"There  is  no  telling  what  a  desperate  man  will 
do,"  replied  Dick.  "We  had  better  be  cautious." 

After  that  they  advanced  with  care.  Presently 
the  trail  came  out  on  a  mountain  road  and  this 
passed  over  some  rocks  and  crossed  two  other 
roads.  They  saw  no  more  of  Dangler,  and  the 
footprints  had  disappeared. 

"He  has  slipped  us,"  said  Tom,  coming  to  a 
halt  and  resting  on  a  fallen  tree.  "Hang  the  luck 
anyway!" 

"He  came  back  to  the  cabin  for  his  things," 
;  mused  Sam.  "I  guess  he  is  going  to  leave  the 
neighborhood,  and  maybe  for  good." 

Chagrinned  over  their  failure  to  catch  the 
freight  thief,  the  boys  looked  around  that  neigh 
borhood  for  awhile  and  then  retraced  their  steps 
to  the  log  cabin.  Here  they  found  several  old 


LAST  DAYS  ON  THE  FARM  6 1 

articles  of  wearing  apparel  and  a  few  newspa 
pers. 

'"Here  is  an  envelope,"  said  Sam,  fishing  the 
object  out  from  behind  the  box  that  had  done 
duty  as  a  table*  "It  is  addressed  to  William 
Dangler.  Must  have  been  some  letter  he  got." 

"Anything  in  it?" 

"No." 

"What  is  the  postmark?" 

"It  is  almost  blurred  out,"  said  Sam.  He  took 
the  envelope  to  the  light.  "Well,  I  declare! 
Ithaca!" 

"Ithaca !"  cried  Tom. 

"Why,  that's  the  city  we  stop  at  to  take  the  boat 
for  Putnam  Hall,"  exclaimed  Dick. 

"I  know  it." 

"This  is  interesting,  to  say  the  least,"  was  the 
comment  of  the  oldest  Rover  boy.  "Wonder  if 
Dangler  has  friends  or  confederates  in  Ithaca?" 

"We  must  notify  the  police  of  this,"  said  Tom. 
"And  the  sooner  the  better." 

Satisfied  that  they  could  learn  nothing  more 
by  remaining  around  the  log  cabin,  the  boys  de 
parted,  and  inside  of  an  hour  were  on  their  buck- 
board  and  bound  for  the  farm.  From  that  place 
they  called  up  the  authorities  and  informed  them 
of  what  they  had  learned.  Another  search  was 
at  once  instituted  for  Bill  Dangler,  but  the  ras 
cal  was  not  captured. 


62  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

The  next  day  Mr.  Anderson  Rover  came  home, 
and  the  boys  and  Randolph  Rover  had  to  acquaint 
him  with  all  that  had  taken  place.  He  shook  his 
head  when  he  heard  of  the  unregistered  bonds. 

"I  am  afraid  you  will  never  see  them  again, 
Randolph,"  he  said  to  his  brother. 

"I  am  afraid  so  myself,"  was  the  mournful 
reply. 

Anderson  Rover  had  come  home  to  see  his  boys 
off  to  school. 

"I  wa-nt  you  to  make  the  most  of  your  oppor 
tunities  while  at  Putnam  Hall  this  term,"  he  said, 
"for  it  is  to  be  your  last." 

"Yes,  I  know  that,"  answered  Tom.  "But 
after  that,  what?" 

"We  will  talk  that  over  later,  Tom.  You  must 
either  go  to  college  or  get  ready  to  go  into  busi 
ness." 

"I'd  like  to  go  to  college?"  put  in  Dick. 

"So  would  I — if  I  knew  what  kind  of  a  place 
it  was,"  added  Tom. 

"If  it  was  as  fine  a  place  as  Putnam  Hall  I'd 
jump  at  it,"  came  from  Sam. 

The  next  few  days  flew  by  quickly.  During 
that  time  Dick  received  a  letter  from  Dan  Baxter, 
the  former  bully  of  Putnam  Hall,  which  inter 
ested  him  not  a  little.  This  letter  ran,  in  part,  as 
follows : 


LAST  DAYS  ON  THE  FARM  63 

"I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  am  now  doing  fairly 
well.  I  tried  several  positions  and  am  now  a  trav 
eling  salesman  for  a  large  carpet  house.  I  get 
fifteen  dollars  per  week,  all  my  expenses,  and  a 
commission  on  sales,  so  I  consider  myself  lucky. 

"When  I  look  back  on  what  I  once  was,  Dick, 
I  can  scarcely  realize  what  a  change  has  come. 
But  I  feel  happier  than  I  ever  was,  and  I  am  in 
hopes  that  I  shall  live  to  make  a  man  of  myself 
yet.  I  am  trying  to  give  up  all  my  bad  habits, 
and  I  haven't  smoked,  or  drank  a  glass  of  liquor, 
since  I  left  you  in  the  south." 

''That's  the  kind  of  a  letter  I  like  to  get,"  said 
Dick,  as  he  let  his  brothers  peruse  the  communi 
cation.  "It  does  a  fellow's  heart  good,  doesn't 
it?" 

"I  am  glad  we  let  him  have  that  hundred  dol 
lars,"  said  Sam.  "Do  you  think  he'll  pay  it 
back?" 

"Here  is  a  postscript  in  which  he  says  he  will 
send  a  money  order  next  week." 

"He  certainly  means  to  pull  himself  together," 
said  Tom.  "Well,  now  he  has  turned  over  a  new 
leaf,  I  wish  him  the  best  of  luck." 

Almost  before  they  knew  it,  it  was  time  to  leave 
the  farm  and  journey  to  Putnam  Hall.  Every 
body  was  sorry  to  see  them  go. 


64  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"I  can't  abide  yo'  boys  being  away  nohow!" 
wailed  Aleck  Pop.  "It  jess  don't  seem  natural 
to  have  yo'  gone,  dat's  wot  it  don't!" 

"Oh,  we'll  be  back  some  day,  Aleck,"  answered 
Dick.  "And  if  we  go  off  on  some  trip  later, 
maybe  we'll  take  you  along." 

"I  most  wish  I  was  a  waiter  ag'in  at  de  Hall," 
sighed  the  colored  man. 

"They  can't  spare  you  from  here,"  said  Sam. 

"Oh,  I  know  dat,  Sam." 

The  boys'  trunks  had  been  packed  and  sent  on 
ahead,  so  all  they  carried  with  them  were  their 
dress-suit  cases.  Their  father  drove  them  to  the 
railroad  station  at  Oak  Run,  and  their  aunt  and 
uncle  and  the  others  around  the  farm  came  out 
on  the  piazza  to  see  them  off. 

"Now  be  good  boys,"  admonished  their  Aunt 
Martha.  "And  take  care  and  don't  get  sick." 

"And  be  sure  and  study  all  you  can,"  said  their 
Uncle  Randolph.  "Remember  nothing  is  quite 
so  grand  as  learning  in  this  world." 

"Yo'  keep  out  ob  mischief!"  cried  Aleck  Pop, 
shaking  a  warning  finger  at  Tom,  who  grinned 
broadly. 

And  then  the  carriage  started  off,  and  the  jour-- 
to  Putnam  Hall  was  begun. 


CHAPTER   IX 

AT  THE  WILD  WEST  SHOW 

As  my  old  readers  know,  Putnam  Hall  was 
located  not  far  from  the  village  of  Cedarville  on 
Cayuga  Lake.  To  get  to  the  school  the  boys  had 
to  take  a  train  to  Ithaca  and  then  board  a  little 
lake  steamer  stopping  at  Cedarville  and  various 
other  points  along  the  shore. 

"It  seems  a  long  time  since  we  were  at  the 
Hall,"  observed  Dick,  as  they  settled  down  in  the 
train. 

"And  what  a  lot  of  things  have  happened  since 
then!"  exclaimed  Sam.  "I  can  tell  you  what, 
we'll  have  a  story  to  tell  to  the  others,  won't  we  ?" 

"I  guess  Songbird,  Fred,  and  Hans  Mueller 
have  already  told  everything,"  returned  Tom. 
"More  than  likely  Songbird  has  concocted  some 
erses  about  it" 

Trie  run  to  Ithaca  took  several  hours,  and  they 
lunched  at  noon  in  the  dining  car.  It  was  a 
beautiful  day,  and  the  boys  enjoyed  the  scenery 
as  much  as  if  they  had  never  seen  it  before. 

"I  hope  we  can  make  a  good  connection  for 

65 


66  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Cedarville,"  said  Sam  as  they  left  the  train  and 
started  for  the  dock  from  which  the  Golden  Star 
made  her  trips  on  the  lake.  But  they  were  doomed 
to  disappointment,  the  steamboat  had  had  a  break 
down  and  would  be  delayed  two  hours  or  more. 

As  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait,  the 
boys  checked  their  dress-suit  cases  and  then 
started  for  a  stroll  through  the  city.  They  soon 
learned  that  a  wild  west  show  was  giving  an  exhi 
bition  there  and  consequently  the  place  was 
crowded  with  folks  from  the  surrounding  dis 
tricts. 

"I  shouldn't  mind  going  to  the  wild  west 
show,"  observed  Tom.  "Do  you  think  we  have 
time?" 

"We  could  spend  an  hour  there  anyway,"  an 
swered  Sam. 

"It  depends  on  where  the  show  is  to  be  held," 
came  from  Dick. 

They  soon  ascertained  that  the  show  grounds 
were  not  far  off,  and  made  their  way  thither.  The 
exhibition  had  already  started,  and  they  got  in 
side  the  big  tent-like  enclosure  as  speedily  as  pos 
sible. 

The  show  was  a  fairly  good  one,  and  the  boys 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  trick  riding  by  cowboys, 
and  the  fancy  rifle  shooting.  Then  came  some 
wild  riding  by  real  Indians. 

"Almost  makes  a  fellow  feel  as  if  he'd  like  to 


AT  THE  WILD  WEST  SHOW  6/ 

be  on  a  horse  himself,"  said  Tom.  He  liked 
horseback  riding  very  well. 

"Say,  I  want  you  to  look  over  there,"  said  Sam, 
pointing  to  the  seats  some  distance  away.  "Do 
you  see  that  man  sitting  near  the  bottom — right 
beside  that  boy  with  the  basket  of  peanuts  ?" 

Tom  and  Dick  looked  in  the  direction  pointed 
out,  and  the  eldest  Rover  gave  a  start. 

"Sam,  do  you  think  it  is  the  fellow  called  Mer- 
rick?"  he  exclaimed. 

"Doesn't  he  look  like  it?" 

"He  certainly  does — now  you  speak  of  it," 
came  from  Tom.  "And,  by  the  way,  don't  you 
remember  about  that  envelope  picked  up  in  the  log 
cabin?  It  was  postmarked  Ithaca." 

"So  it  was !    Perhaps  this  Merrick  lives  here." 

"Let  us  go  over  and  get  a  closer  look  at  him," 
said  Dick,  and  left  his  seat,  followed  by  the 
others. 

There  was  a  large  crowd,  so  they  had  some 
difficulty  in  making  their  way  to  where  the  maft. 
was  located.  In  his  haste,  Dick  bumped  against 
a  waiter  selling  lemonade  and  spilled  the  contents 
of  two  glasses  on  the  ground. 

"Excuse  me,"  he  said. 

"Hi!  you've  got  to  pay  for  the  lemonade," 
roared  the.  waiter,  angrily.  "You  pay  up,  you 
clumsy  clown!" 

"See  here,  my  man,  I'll  pay  you,  but  I  want 


68  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

you  to  understand  you  can't  call  me  a  clown," 
said  Dick,  angrily. 

"Ah !  go  on  wid  yer !    Pay  up,  see  ?" 

"Here's  your  money,"  and  Dick  held  out  ten 
cents.  "Now,  am  I  a  clown  or  not?" 

"Well,  er " 

"Am  I  or  not?"  And  the  eldest  Rover  boy 
doubled  up  his  fists.  He  knew  he  must  "take  the 
bull  by  the  horns"  with  such  an  individual  as  that 
before  him. 

"Excuse  me,"  mumbled  the  fellow  and  moved 
away.  "I — er — suppose  yer  couldn't  help  it." 

Sam  and  Tom  had  gone  ahead  and  they  were 
now  close  to  the  man  they  took  to  be  Merrick. 

"No  mistake  here !"  declared  Sam,  as  he  got  a 
good,  square  look  at  the  fellow's  face. 

"He  sees  us!"  exclaimed  Tom,  a  second  later. 
"He  is  trying  to  get  away." 

The  boy  was  right,  Merrick  had  seen  them.  He 
was  greatly  amazed,  for  he  had  not  dreamed  of 
their  being  in  that  vicinity.  He  left  his  seat  in 
a  hurry,  and,  elbowing  his  way  through  the 
crowd,  started  for  the  entrance  to  the  big  tent- 
like  enclosure. 

By  this  time  Dick  was  coming  up  and  Sam  and 
Tom  quickly  acquainted  him  with  what  was  going 
on.  All  three  of  the  Rovers  pushed  through  the 
big  crowd  after  Merrick,  but,  before  they  could 
draw  near,  the  rascal  was  outside  and  running 


AT  THE  WILD  WEST  SHOW  69 

between  a  number  of  carriages  and  wagons  stand 
ing  in  that  vicinity. 

"Come  on  after  him!"  cried  Tom  "We  must 
capture  him  if  we  can!" 

They  set  off  on  a  smart  run,  but  Merrick  could 
run  also,  and  fear  now  lent  speed  to  his  flying 
feet.  On  and  on  went  the  swindler,  with  the 
Rover  boys  less  than  a  square  behind  him.  Then, 
as  they  came  to  a  number  of  tall  buildings,  Mer 
rick  darted  around  a  corner  and  out  of  sight. 

When  the  Rover  boys  reached  the  corner  they 
looked  in  every  direction  for  the  man.  Only  a 
few  people  were  about,  the  majority  of  the  town 
folks  being  at  the  show. 

"Wonder  if  he  went  straight  on,  or  took  to 
some  side  street?"  mused  Dick. 

"I'll  go  straight  on,"  said  Sam.  "Dick,  you 
can  take  one  side  street  and  Tom  can  take  the 
other,"  and  away  went  the  youngest  Rover,  at  a 
fresh  burst  of  speed. 

Sam's  advice  was  considered  good,  and  soon  all 
of  the  boys  had  scattered.  The  street  Tom  fol 
lowed  was  lined  with  tall  tenements  and  ended  in 
little  more  than  an  alleyway. 

Coming  to  another  corner,  Tom  paused  and 
gazed  in  all  directions.  As  he  turned  his  head 
he  saw  a  man  look  out  from  a  tenement  doorway. 
Then  the  head  was  drawn  back  quickly. 

"Merrick!"    muttered   Tom   to   himself,    and 


70  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

turned  back  to  the  tenement,  which  was  a  build 
ing  four  stories  high.  On  one  side  was  some 
thing  of  an  alleyway  and  beyond  were  other  tene 
ments,  and  the  rear  of  a  big  building  used  for  a 
factory  and  offices. 

Tom  found  the  front  door  of  the  tenement 
wide  open  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  go  in.  No 
body  was  in  sight,  but  he  heard  hasty  footsteps 
on  the  floor  above. 

"Merrick!  you  might  as  well  give  up!"  he 
called  out.  "Come  down  here!" 

"Go  on  about  your  business,  young  fellow!" 
came  the  reply.  "If  you  try  to  follow  me  you'll 
get  the  worst  of  it." 

Undaunted  by  this  threat,  Tom  mounted  the 
stairs  two  steps  at  a  time.  As  he  did  so  he  heard 
Merrick  go  up  a  second  flight  and  then  a  third. 

"Must  think  he  can  hide  on  the  roof,"  thought 
Tom.  "Well,  I'll  corner  him  if  I  can." 

As  Tom  ran  through  the  hallway  on  the  third 
floor  a  door  opened  and  an  old  woman  confronted 
him. 

"What  do  yez  want  here?"  she  demanded,  in 
strong  Irish  accents. 

"I  am  after  a  thief,"  answered  Tom. 

"A  thafe!  Sure  an'  there's  no  thafe  in  this 
house." 

"He  just  ran  in  here  from  the  street" 


AT  THE  WILD  WEST  SHOW  71 

*'Bedad,  is  that  true  now?  Where  did  he  go 
to?" 

"I  don't  know.    How  do  you  get  to  the  roof  ?" 

"Be  the  laddher  at  the  back  av  the  hall." 

The  old  woman  pointed  in  the  direction,  and 
Tom  sped  on.  Soon  he  reached  a  common 
wooden  ladder  leading  to  a  scuttle,  which  was 
wide  open.  As  the  youth  mounted  the  ladder  the 
scuttle  was  banged  shut,  almost  hitting  him  on 
the  top  of  the  head.  Then  he  heard  hasty  foot 
steps  across  the  roof. 

"Maybe  he  thinks  he  can  jump  to  one  of  the 
other  buildings,"  said  Tom  to  himself.  "Well,  if 
he  can  do  it,  so  can  I." 

He  pushed  the  scuttle  up  with  difficulty,  for  it 
was  heavy.  Then  with  caution,  for  he  did  not 
want  to  receive  a  kick  in  the  head,  he  gazed 
around  the  roof  of  the  tenement.  Nobody  was  in 
sight. 

With  caution  Tom  stepped  out  on  the  roof.  A 
number  of  chimneys  were  not  far  off,  and  he 
wondered  if  Merrick  was  concealed  behind  them. 

"I  wish  I  had  a  club  or  something,"  he  thought. 
"I'd  have  a  tough  time  of  it  up  here,  if  it  came 
to  a  hand-to-hand  struggle." 

With  eyes  on  the  alert,  Tom  made  his  way  to 
one  chimney  and  then  another.  The  swindler 
was  not  there,  nor  was  he  on  the  adjoining  roof. 


72  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Then  the  youth  got  down  on  his  hands  and  knees 
and  looked  over  the  edge  of  the  tenement,  on 
the  alleyway  side.  Here  was  an  iron  fire  escape, 
running  from  the  fourth  story  to  the  second.' 
On  the  fire  escape  he  saw  Merrick,  descending 
to  the  bottom  with  all  possible  rapidity. 


CHAPTER   X 

JOLLY   OLD  SCHOOLMATES 

EVIDENTLY  the  swindler  had  dropped  from  the 
roof  to  the  upper  landing  of  the  fire  escape.  He 
was  now  almost  to  the  bottom. 

"Stop!"  cried  Tom,  but  he  knew  the  command 
was  a  useless  one.  At  the  sound  of  his  voice 
Merrick  looked  up  and  muttered  something  the 
boy  could  not  catch.  Then  he  swung  himself 
from  the  bottom  landing  of  the  fire  escape  and 
dropped  to  the  ground. 

"If  he  can  get  down  that  way,  so  can  I," 
thought  Tom,  and  in  another  moment  he  was 
descending  the  escape  in  the  same  fashion  as  the 
swindler  had  done.  As  he  reached  the  second 
landing  of  the  escape  he  saw  Merrick  turn  the 
corner  of  the  alleyway  and  disappear  on  the  street 
beyond. 

When  Tom  came  out  on  the  street  he  almost 
ran  into  the  arms  of  two  burly  men  who  had 
come  out  of  the  tenement.  Both  caught  him  by 
the  arms. 

"What  does  this  mean,  young  fellow?"  asked 
one,  savagely.  "Doing  the  ^.eak-thief  act?" 

7T 


74  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"I  am  after  a  thief,"  was  the  answer.  "Did 
you  see  a  man  running  away?" 

"No,  and  we  don't  think  there  was  a  man,"  an- 
>wered  one  of  the  tenement  dwellers. 

"Well,  there  was  a  man,"  said  Tom.  "Come, 
if  you  will  help  me  catch  him  I  will  reward  you 
well." 

"What  did  he  steal?" 

"Some  bonds  worth  ten  thousand  dollars — they 
belonged  to  my  uncle,"  explained  Tom,  hastily. 

The  promise  of  a  reward  made  the  men  at 
tentive  and  they  soon  agreed  to  assist  Tom  as 
much  as  possible.  Then  Dick  and  Sam  came 
in  si-ght,  and  had  to  be  told  of  what  had  hap 
pened. 

The  two  men  knew  the  tenement  and  factory 
district  well,  and  they  led  in  a  hunt  lasting  over 
half  an  hour,  and  a  policeman  was  likewise  called 
into  service. 

"I've  heard  of  that  bond  case,"  said  the  police 
man.  "I'd  like  to  lay  my  hands  on  Merrick." 

But  the  hunt  was  a  useless  one,  for  Merrick 
could  not  be  found.  For  their  trouble  Tom  gave 
the  two  men  from  the  tenement  a  dollar  each, 
with  which  they  had  to  be  satisfied.  The  police 
man  promised  to  report  the  matter  at  headquar 
ters,  and  as  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  else  to  do, 
fhe  three  Rover  boys  walked  down  to  the  steam 
boat  dock,  first,  however,  sending  a  telegram  to 


JOLLY  OLD  SCHOOLMATES  75 

Randolph  Rover,  relating  briefly  what  had  oc 
curred. 

"It's  a  great  pity  we  didn't  catch  this  Merrick," 
sighed  Tom,  when  they  were  steaming  along  the 
lake  shore.  "Perhaps  we'll  never  see  or  hear  of 
him  again." 

"Well,  we  don't  want  Merrick  as  much  as  we 
want  Uncle  Randolph's  traction  company  bonds," 
answered  Dick.  "If  he  has  disposed  of  the  bonds 
it  won't  do  much  good  to  catch  him, — unless,  of 
course,  he  can  get  the  bonds  back." 

"And  he  may  not  have  had  the  bonds,"  put  in 
Sam.  "That  fellow  Pike  may  have  handled 
them." 

"That  is  true,  too, — although  I  somehow  think 
Merrick  is  the  prime  mover  in  this  swindle." 

"I  think  that,  too,"  said  Tom. 

The  Golden  Star  was  a  trim  little  side-wheeler 
with  a  fair-sized  deck  fore  and  aft.  The  boys 
sat  on  the  forward  deck,  and  as  the  boat  ran 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake  they  pointed  out  many 
localities  known  to  them. 

"There  is  where  we  went  on  the  paper  chase," 
said  Sam. 

"Yes,  and  that  is  where  we  went  on  one  of  the 
encampments,"  added  Tom. 

"We  came  fishing  down  here  once,"  put  in 
Dick.  "One  of  the  boys  went  overboard." 

"It  was  John  Fenwick,  the  f~Uow  we  used  to 


76  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

call  Mumps,"  said  Tom.  "By  the  way,  I  won 
der  what  has  become  of  him?" 

"Went  west,  I  think,"  answered  Sam.  "One 
of  the  boys  said  he  was  in  the  insurance  business 
with  some  relative." 

"He  was  a  great  toady  to  Dan  Baxter." 

"So  he  was,  but  he  had  some  good  points,  too." 

So  the  talk  ran  on,  until  Cedarville  was  reached. 
On  account  of  the  delay  it  was  dark,  and  the 
boys  wondered  if  they  would  find  any  convey 
ance  to  take  them  to  the  Hall. 

"Hullo,  here  is  Peleg  Snuggers  with  the  car 
ryall!"  cried  Sam,  as  the  general  utility  man  of 
the  school  appeared.  "How  are  you,  Peleg?" 

"Fust  rate,"  replied  the  man,  grinning.  "Been 
waiting  a  long  time  for  you." 

"Sorry,  but  we  couldn't  make  the  captain  hurry 
the  boat,"  answered  Dick. 

"Peleg,  you're  a  sight  for  tired  optics,"  said 
Tom,  giving  the  man's  hand  a  squeeze  that  made 
him  wince.  "How's  your  grandmother?" 

"Why,  Master  Tom,  I  ain't " 

"And  your  great-granduncle  ?  Is  he  over  the 
shingles  yet?" 

"Why,  Master  Tom,  I  ain't  got  no " 

"And  your  second  cousin  by  your  first  wife's 
sister?  Did  she  get  over  the  heart  failure  she 
had  when  the  canary  took  a  fit?" 


JOLLY  OLD  SCHOOLMATES  77 

"Now,  see  here,  Master  Tom,  don't  you  go  for 
to  joking  an  old  man " 

J< Joking,  Peleg?"  returned  Tom,  solemnly. 
"Why,  you  know  I  never  joke."  And  he  took 
on  an  injured  look. 

"Don't  joke,  eh  ?  Well,  if  you  ain't  the  great 
est  joker  Putnam  Hall  ever  see  then  I'll  eat  my 
hat,"  declared  Peleg.  "Jump  in  an'  don't  ask 
me  about  no  grandfathers,  or  wife's  sisters,  nor 
nuthing.  Ain't  you  hungry?" 

"Hungry?  I  could  eat  a  brickbat  fried  in 
lemon  oil." 

"Then,  unless  you  hurry,  you  won't  get  no 
supper." 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Green  will  get  something  for  us, 
never  fear,"  said  Dick,  mentioning  the  matron 
of  Putnam  Hall,  who  was  a  warm-hearted  and 
generous  woman,  even  though  a  little  bit  "pep 
pery"  at  times. 

"All  the  other  boys  here  now  ?"  asked  Dick,  as 
they  drove  off  in  the  direction  of  Putnam  Hall. 

"I  reckon  the  most  of  'em  are,  Master  Dick. 
So  many  coming  an'  going  I  can  hardly  keep 
track  of  'em." 

"Fred  Garrison,  Songbird  Powell  and  Hans 
Mueller  back?"  asked  Sam. 

"Yes,  an'  they  told  me  some  wonderful  stories 
of  your  doings  down  south." 


7b  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM  <x 

"Are  Larry  Colby  and  George  Granbary 
here?"  questioned  Dick. 

"Yes." 

"I'll  be  glad  to  meet  Larry  and  George  again/* 
went  on  Dick.  "I  suppose  they'll  have  something 
to  tell  of  what  they  did  during  vacation." 

"Every  time  I  come  to  the  Hall  I  think  of  the 
first  time  I  came,"  said  Tom.  "Do  you  remem 
ber  how  I  set  off  that  giant  firecracker  ?" 

"Yes,  and  how  old  Josiah  Crabtree  put  you 
under  arrest  for  it,"  added  Sam.  "Wonder 
where  old  Crabtree  is  now?" 

"He  is  out  of  prison,"  answered  Peleg  Snug- 
gers.  "I  got  that  from  a  man  in  Cedarville.  The 
man  said  as  how  Crabtree  went  to  Canada." 

"Hope  he  stays  there  and  never  attempts  to 
bother  Mrs.  Stanhope  again,"  was  Dick's  com 
ment. 

About  half  the  distance  to  the  Hall  had  been 
covered  when  there  came  a  shout  on  the  road  and 
Peleg  Snuggers  had  to  rein  in  his  team.  Then 
several  boys  appeared,  dressed  in  cadet  uniforms, 
for  Putnam  Hall  was  a  military  academy. 

"Whoop!  here  they  are,  fellows!  Hurrah  for 
the  Rovers!" 

"Rovers  by  name  and  rovers  by  nature !" 

"Say,  Tom,  how  do  you  like  being  adrift  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico?" 


JOLLY  OLD  SCHOOLMATES  79 

"Sam,  don't  you  want  to  become  a  regular 
cowboy  ?" 

"Dick,  when  I  buy  a  houseboat  I'm  going  to 
engage  you  as  captain." 

And  then  the  students  in  the  road  clambered 
into  the  carryall  and  tumbled  all  over  the  Rovers, 
hugging  them  and  trying  to  shake  hands  at  the 
same  time. 

"Larry,  glad  to  see  you,  but  please  don't 
smother  me." 

"I'll  love  you,  George,  if  only  you  won't  put 
your  elbow  through  my  ribs." 

"I  knew  Fred  would  meet  us.*' 

"You  gif  me  der  honor  of  dis,"  came  from 
Hans  Mueller.  "I  tole  dem  fellers  to  come  along 
alretty." 

"Good  for  you,  Hansy,  old  boy!"  cried  Sam, 
and  gave  the  German  cadet  a  tight  squeeze. 

"Songbird,  why  don't  you  turn  on  the  poetry 
pipe  line  and  let  her  flow?"  queried  Larry  Colby, 
who,  even  though  an  officer  of  one  of  the  com 
panies,  was  as  jolly  as  the  rest  of  the  students. 

"Yes,  give  us  something  by  all  means,"  said 
Tom.  "Something  about  'stilly  night,'  'fond 
recollections,'  'starved  cats,'  and  the  like." 

"Humph!  'stilly  night'  and  'starved  cats'!" 
snorted  Songbird  Powell.  "You  must  think  I'm 
running  a  hash  mill  instead  of " 


8o  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"By  no  means,  Songbird,  dear!"  piped  Tom. 
"We  all  know  you're  the  sole  owner  of  the  largest 
poem  factory  in  New  York  state.  Let  her  flow 
,by  all  means." 

"If  you  don't  recite,  we'll  sing,"  said  Dick. 

"No,  don't  do  that — yet,"  pleaded  Songbird. 
"I've  got  a  verse  or  two  all  ready,  and  he  began, 
in  slow,  measured  tones: 

"Back  to  dear  old  Putnam  Hall ! 

Back  to  the  days  of  yore  ! 
Back  to  the  good  old  times  we  had ! 

May  we  have  many  more ! 
Back  to  our  lessons  and  our  books, 

And  to  the  teachers,  too, 
Back  to  the  drills  and  hours  off " 

"And  to  the  mutton  stew  ! " 

finished   Tom.      "Don't    forget   to   put   in   Mrs 
Green's  wonderful  mutton  stews." 

"No  mutton  stews  in  this!"  snorted  Songbird. 
"The  last  line  was,  'When  days  were  bright  and 
blue,'  "  and  then  he  continued  : 

"We  love  to  gather  here  again, 

And  talk  of  times  to  come, 
And  plot  and  plan,  and  plan  and  plot 

And  plan  and  plot and  plot  and  plot 

And  plan and  plan— — and  plan '* 

"Songbird,    you've    plotted    and    planned    too 


JOLLY  OLD  SCHOOLMATES  8l 

much,"  interrupted  Dick,   as  the  would-be  poet 
hesitated.     "Let's  sing  a  song." 

"That's  the  talk!"  cried  Fred  Garrison,  and 
started  up  the  song  well  known  to  all  of  them : 

5 'Putnam  Hall's  the  place  for  roe  ! 

Tra  la  lee !     Tra  la  lee  ! 
Putnam  Hall's  the  place  for  me! 
The  best  old  school  I  know ! ' ' 

And  then,  as  the  carryall  swung  up  to  the 
campus,  they  set  up  the  school  yell,  which  brought 
out  a  score  of  students  to  witness  the  arrival  of 
the  Rover  boys. 


CHAPTER   XI 


As  my  old  readers  know,  Putnam  Hall  was  a 
handsome  structure  of  brick  and  stone  standing 
in-  the  center  of  a  large  plot  of  ground,  bounded 
on  two  sides  by  cedar  woods.  To  the  front  was 
the  campus  and  the  wagon  road  and  beyond  this 
a  slope  leading  to  the  lake.  To  the  rear  were 
rich  farm  lands,  cultivated  solely  for  the  benefit 
of  the  institution.  Besides  the  school,  there  were 
a  building  fitted  up  as  a  gymnasium,  and  also 
several  barns  and  carriage  houses.  The  Hall 
was  built  in  the  form  of  the  letter  E,  and  was 
three  stories  high.  It  contained  numerous  class 
rooms,  a  private  office,  a  large  mess  hall,  or  din 
ing  room,  and  both  large  and  small  dormitories. 

The  master  of  the  school  was  Captain  Victor 
Putnam,  who  was  a  bachelor,  and  as  kind  as  he 
was  strict.  Captain  Putnam  was  a  West  Point 
graduate,  and  had  modeled  his  school  somewhat! 
after  that  famous  government  institution.  When 
the  school  was  first  organized  the  Rover  boys 
did  not  go  there,  but  a  number  of  other  bright 

82 


WILLIAM  PHILANDER   TUBES  83 

and  lively  lads  did,  and  what  these  cadets  accom 
plished  has  already  been  related  in  a  line  of 
stories  called  "The  Putnam  Hall  Series,"  start 
ing  with  "The  Putnam  Hall  Cadets."  These 
lads  had  some  awful  quarrels  with  the  head  as 
sistant,  Josiah  Crabtree,  and  they  were  glad 
when  the  Rovers  appeared  and  made  it  so  hot  for 
Crabtree  that  he  had  to  leave.  George  Strong 
was  now  first  assistant  in  place  of  Crabtree,  and 
the  cadets  found  him  a  teacher  after  their  own 
heart. 

"Hurrah!  here  are  the  Rovers!"  was  the  cry 
from  the  campus.  "Welcome  back!" 

"Boys,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  again,"  came  from 
Captain  Putnam,  as  he  appeared  at  the  front  door 
and  shook  hands.  "From  what  I  have  heard 
you  have  had  rather  strenuous  times  during  the 
past  vacation." 

"That  is  true,  Captain,"  answered  Dick.  "I 
am  glad  to  get  back  here." 

"So  am  I  glad,"  came  from  Tom  and  Sam, 
and  all  shook  hands.  Then  the  boys  were  told 
to  go  to  the  mess  hall,  where  a  hot  supper  awaited 
them.  Here  Mrs.  Green  met  them  with  her 
round,  ruddy  and  smiling  face. 

"It's  wonderful  stories  I've  heard  of  you,"  said 
the  matron.  "I  declare,  you'll  have  to  go  into  a 
museum !" 

"Not  until  after  supper  anyhow,"   answered 


84  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

Tom,  dryly.  And  then  everybody  present 
laughed. 

The  supper  over,  the  boys  went  up  to  their 
dormitory,  and  here  as  many  of  the  cadets  as 
could  crowded  in,  to  talk  over  the  doings  of  the 
past  vacation.  Larry  Colby  had  spent  the  time 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  George  Granbury  had 
been  to  the  Thousand  Islands  and  to  Montreal. 

"Yes,  Crabtree  is  in  Canada,"  said  George.  "I 
met  him  in  Montreal,  and  I  can  tell  you,  he  looked 
seedy  enough." 

"Well,  he  deserves  to  be  seedy,"  was  Dick's 
comment.  He  could  not  forget  how  the  former 
teacher  had  endeavored  to  hypnotize  the  widow 
Stanhope  into  marrying  him,  so  that  he  could 
gain  possession  of  the  money  she  was  holding 
in  trust  for  Dora. 

Of  course  all  the  boys  wanted  to  know  about 
Dan  Baxter,  for  he  had  been  a  leading  character 
at  the  Hall  for  many  years.  Some  shook  their 
heads  at  the  idea  of  the  former  bully  reforming. 

"It  will  be  the  greatest  surprise  I  ever  heard 
of,"  was  Larry's  comment. 

"He'll  do  it — mark  my  words,"  said  Dick. 

"Let  us  hope  so,"  said  George. 

"Well,  it  would  seem  that  Putnam  Hall  is  not 
to  suffer  for  the  want  of  a  bully,"  came  from 
Fred.  "We've  got  a  new  one  here  who  is  as  bad 
as  Dan  Baxter  ever  was." 


WILLIAM  PHILANDER   TUBBS  85 

"Who  is  he?"  questioned  Dick,  with  interest. 

"A  chap  named  Tad  Sobber.  He  is  a  big,  over 
bearing  fellow  with  hardly  any  education,  and  he 
wants  to  rule  everybody.  I  can't  understand  how 
Captain  Putnam  took  him  as  a  pupil." 

"He  came  well  recommended,  that's  why,"  an 
swered  Songbird.  "But  I  guess  the  captain  has 
found  out  that  the  recommendation  was  false." 

"He  shan't  rule  me,"  said  Tom,  decidedly. 

"We  want  no  bullies  here,"  put  in  Dick  "The 
day  for  all  such  is  past." 

"So  say  we  all  of  us!"  cried  several  cadets. 

At  that  moment  came  a  knock  on  the  door,  and 
a  tall  youth,  wearing  an  unusually  high  collar  and 
very  large  cuffs,  came  in. 

"Well,  if  it  isn't  our  old  chum,  William  Philan 
der  Tubbs!"  cried  Dick,  running  forward  and 
grasping  the  hand  of  the  dude  student. 

"Hullo,  Tubbsey,  old  man!"  said  Tom,  gaily. 
"What's  the  price  of  the  best  cologne  now?" 

"Very — ah — glad  to  meet  you  again,"  drawled 
Tubbs.  "But — er — please  don't  call  me  Tubb 
sey,  because  it  isn't  my  name,  don't  you  know." 

"To  be  sure,  Buttertub — I  mean  Washtub," 
answered  Tom.  "Had  your  hair  crimped  lately  ?" 

"Now,  Tom,  I  never  crimp  my  hair — it  hurts 
the  color,  don't  you  know,"  explained  William 
Philander.  "I  use " 

"Glue  with  an  egg  beater,"  finished  Tom.  with 


86  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

a  wink  at  his  friends.  "By  the  way,  Tubblets, 
do  you  know  what  I  heard  some  girls  say  last 
week  ?  They  said  they  thought  you  were  a  regu 
lar  fashion  plate." 

"Now  did  they  really?"  gushed  the  dude,  much' 
pleased.  "Who — er — said  it?" 

"Two  girls  living  not  many  miles  from  here." 

"You — ah — don't  happen  to  know  their 
names  ?" 

"No.    But  I  can  tell  you  all  about  them." 

"Ah!  Then  please  do,  Tom,"  said  the  dude 
eagerly.  To  have  any  young  ladies  think  of  him 
pleased  him  immensely. 

"Well,  these  are  a  couple  of  young  ladies  who 
work  in  a  laundry.  Maybe  they  wash  your 
shirts.  They  are  colored,  and " 

"Colored!"  gasped  the  dude,  and  then  a  shout 
of  laughter  went  up,  in  the  midst  of  which  Wil 
liam  Philander  started  to  leave  the  room. 

"Don't  go  away  mad,  Billy,"  cried  Tom. 
"Isn't  it  nice  even  to  have  two  dusky  damsels 
think  of  you  ?" 

"No,  it  is  not — it  is — is  horrid!"  answered 
William  Philander.  "I  think  you  are — er — 
poking  fun  at  me." 

"Never  did  such  a  thing  in  my  life,  my  dear 
fellow — it's  against  my  internal  regulations.  But 
how  have  you  been  since  the  week  before  next 
month  ?" 


WILLIAM  PHILANDER   TUBES  87 

"I  had  a  delightful  vacation." 

"Took  the  girls  out  to  ice-cream  sociables  and 
yellow  teas  every  day  you  wasn't  playing  golf  or 
hop-scotch,  I  suppose." 

"I — er — took  the  young  ladies  out  some — we 
had  glorious  times,  don't  you  know.  One  moon 
light  night  on  Lake  George  I  shall  never  forget, 
don't  you  know.  We  were  out  in  a  tiny  rowboat 
and  the  moon  was  sparkling  over  the  water,  and 
Geraldine  and  I " 

"Lucky  Geraldine !"  sighed  Tom.  "And  thrice 
lucky  Philander  Willander — I  mean  William 
Philander!" 

"Can't  you  make  up  a  poem  about  Geraldine, 
Songbird?"  asked  Sam. 

"And  don't  forget  to  put  in  the  moonlight," 
came  from  Dick. 

"And  the  silvery  waves,  and  murmuring 
breeze,"  added  Fred. 

"How  much  older  than  you  is  Geraldine,  any 
how?"  quizzed  Tom. 

"Geraldine  is " 

"You  haven't  got  to  tell  her  age  if  she  is  over 
thirty,  Billy,"  said  Larry.  "Her  age  is  sacred 
after  that,  you  know." 

"And  don't  tell  us  even  if  she  has  false  teeth," 
came  from  Sam. 

"And  it  doesn't  make  any  real  difference 
whether  her  hair  is  her  own  or  not" 


88  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"It's  hers  if  it  is  paid  for,"  said  Tom.  "You 
don't  suppose  a  girl  that  Billy  would  fall  in  love 
with  would  wear  tresses  that  were  stolen  ?"  .., 

"And  to  think  she  may  be  fat!"  sighed  Sam, 
"I  hope  she  doesn't  weigh  over  two  hundred, 
Willy." 

"Oh  dear  me!"  cried  the  dude,  in  desperation. 
"I  Avant  you  to  remember " 

"That  she  is  yours  and  yours  only,"  finished 
Tom.  "Yes,  nobody  shall  walk  in  your  corn 
patch,  Bill — not  over  my  dead  body.  But  tell 
us — secretly  if  you  must — does  she  wear  a  num 
ber  eight  shoe  or  a  twelve?" 

"If  you  don't  stop  your  fooling "  gasped 

the  dude, 

"He  is  going  to  keep  his  dreadful  secrets  to 
himself,"  cried  Tom,  mournfully.  "Alack!  and 
too  bad!  But  never  mind,  we'll  all  come  to  the 
wedding,  Tubblets,  and  bring  lemons  if  you  say 
so?" 

"Who  said  I  was  going  to  get  married  ?" 

"Is  it  to  be  a  church  affair  or  just  a  little  pri 
vate  home  gathering?"  went  on  Tom,  seriously. 
"If  it's  to  be  in  a  church,  and  you  want  us  all  for 
rushers — I  mean  ushers,  why " 

"We'll  all  be  on  the  job,"  finished  Dick. 
"Wouldn't  miss  the  chance  f~?  °  farm  with  a 
blind  mule  thrown  in." 


89 

"Vots  der  madder  mid  me  peing  a  flower  girl  ?" 
asked  Hans,  grinning  broadly. 

"No,  Hansy,  you'll  have  to  carry  Billy's  coat- 
tails  for  him,"  said  Fred.  "The  latest  style 
from  London,  don't  you  know,  is  to  have  them 
trailing  on  behind  like " 

"Oh,  stop!  stop!"  screamed  William  Philan 
der,  putting  his  hands  to  his  ears.  "You  are  all 
perfectly  horrid,  don't  you  know!  I'll  not  re 
main  another  minute!"  and  he  fled  from  the 
dormitory,  the  laughter  of  the  crowd  ringing  in 
his  ears  as  he  departed. 


CHAPTER   XII 

WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  STAIRS 

IN  a  few  days  the  Rover  boys  felt  perfectly  at 
home  once  more — indeed  it  was  as  if  they  had 
never  been  away,  so  Sam  said.  The  majority 
of  the  students  were  old  friends,  although  there 
was  a  fair  sprinkling  of  new  boys. 

It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  week  that  Dick 
Rover  came  into  contact  with  Tad  Sobber,  a 
stocky  youth,  with  a  shock  of  black  hair  and  eyes 
which  were  cold  and  penetrating.  Sobber  was 
with  a  chum  named  Nick  Pell,  and  both  eyed 
Dick  in  a  calculating  manner  which  was  highly 
offensive. 

"He's  the  fellow  who  does  the  hero  act,"  whis 
pered  Sobber  to  Pell,  in  a  manner  meant  to  reach 
Dick's  ears.  "Wants  to  make  a  regular  grand 
stand  play  all  the  time." 

Without  hesitation  Dick  wheeled  about. 

"Was  that  remark  intended  for  me?"  he  de 
manded,  sharply. 

His  suddenness  took  Tad  Sobber  off  his  guard. 

"What  if  it  was?"  he  demanded  in  return. 

90 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  STAIRS          91 

"I  don't  like  it,  that's  all." 

"Humph !  I  don't  care  whether  you  like  it  or 
not,"  grunted  Sobber. 

"See  here,  Tad  Sobber,  let  us  have  an  under 
standing,"  said  Dick,  calmly.    "I  understand  thai 
you  are  trying  to  bully  everybody  in  this  school 
Now,  this  cannot  be.     We  have  had  several  bul 
lies  here  and  we  have  gotten  rid  of  them  all.    We 
want  no  more." 

"Humph!  Trying  to  be  the  bully  yourself, 
eh?"  sneered  Sobber. 

"No,  I  am  only  giving  you  warning.  The  other 
boys  have  told  me  about  you." 

"Tad  has  a  right  to  act  as  he  pleases,"  put  in 
Nick  Pell. 

"No,  he  has  not.  Captain  Putnam  expects 
every  student  here  to  be  a  gentleman." 

"Oh,  don't  preach,  Rover,"  cried  Tad  Sobber. 
"I  can  take  care  of  myself  without  your  advice." 

"Well,  I  warn  you  to  keep  your  distance  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned  and  keep  a  civil  tongue  in  your 
head,"  said  Dick. 

What  this  war  of  words  might  have  led  to 
there  is  no  telling.  Just  at  that  moment  the  school' 
bell  rang,  and  all  of  the  students  had  to  hurry  tol 
their  respective  classes. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  Sam,  Tom  and 
Dick  were  now  in  the  same  grade.  This  may  be 
wondered  at,  but  the  fact  of  the  matter  was  that 


92  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

Sam,  by  hard  work  the  term  previous,  had  caught 
up  to  Tom,  while  Dick,  because  of  being  away 
on  some  business  for  his  father  at  various  times, 
had  dropped  a  little  behind. 

"Had  a  little  run-in  with  Sobber,"  said  Dick 
to  his  brothers,  when  he  got  the  chance,  and  re 
lated  the  particulars. 

"He  said  something  about  me  behind  my  back," 
said  Sam.  "I  don't  know  what  it  was,  but  I  am 
certain  it  was  nothing  complimentary." 

"We  must  watch  him,"  said  Tom.  "If  we  do 
not,  he  may  try  to  play  us  foul." 

As  this  was  to  be  their  last  term  at  Putnam 
Hall,  all  of  the  Rovers  determined  to  do  their 
best  in  their  studies,  so  they  spent  no  time  in  fool 
ing  while  at  their  classes.  Once  or  twice  Tom 
found  it  hard  to  resist  playing  a  joke,  but  a  look 
from  Dick  usually  made  him  turn  to  his  books 
again. 

It  was  now  the  season  for  football,  and  several 
school  teams  had  been  organized.  Tom  and 
Dick  were  on  one  team,  headed  by  Larry  Colby. 
.There  was  another  team  headed  by  Tad  Sobber, 
and  on  this  Nick  Pell  was  a  quarterback.  How 
Sobber  had  ever  gotten  the  captaincy  of  this  team 
Was  a  mystery. 

"They  want  to  play  us  next  Saturday,"  said 
Larry,  one  afternoon.  "What  do  you  fellows 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  STAIRS 


93 


say?"     He  put  the  question  to  his  fellow  mem 
bers  of  the  eleven. 

-"I  don't  care  much  to  play  Sobber  and  Pell," 
said  Tom,  promptly. 

"Exactly  the  way  I  feel  about  it,"  added  Dick. 
•'But  I'll  play  if  the  rest  want  to." 

Some  demurred,  but  in  the  end  the  match  was 
arranged,  and  it  started  on  the  school  grounds 
at  two  o'clock  the  following  Saturday  afternoon. 

"I  think  it  will  be  useless  to  try  any  mass  play 
ing,"  said  Larry.  "Sobber  and  Pell  and  some  of 
the  others  are  too  heavy  for  us.  We'll  have  to 
trust  to  some  swift  passes  and  quick  runs." 

In  the  first  half  of  the  game  Sobber's  eleven 
got  ten  points,  while  Larry's  team  got  nothing. 

"Sobber  is  too  brutal  for  me,"  said  Tom.  "He 
deliberately  kicked  me  in  the  shins." 

"If  he  does  it  again,  knock  him  down,"  ad 
vised  Dick,  promptly. 

Larry's  eleven  went  into  the  second  half  with 
vigor.  They  soon  got  a  goal  and  followed  it  up 
by  two  more.  Then  Sobber  claimed  a  foul,  but 
it  was  not  granted. 

"If  anybody  is  fouling  it  is  you,"  said  Dick. 
"You  fouled  Tom  twice.  If  you  do  it  again ': 

"Never  mind,  Dick,"  interrupted  Larry.  "Gc 
on  and  play,  or  give  up,"  he  added  to  Tad  Sob 
ber. 


94  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"I  want  Dick  Rover  to  understand  that 

he "  began  Sobber,  when  another  player 

pulled  him  back.  Some  hot  words  followed,  and 
then  the  game  proceeded.  Larry's  eleven  made 
another  touchdown  and  kicked  the  goal, — and 
thus  won  a  substantial  victory,  much  to  Sobber's 
disgust  and  that  of  his  crony,  Nick  Pell. 

"No  use  of  talking,  those  Rover  boys  make  me 
sick,"  said  Sobber,  when  he  and  Nick  Pell  were 
alone.  "Everybody  in  this  school  seems  to  toady 
to  them." 

"If  I  had  been  you  I'd  have  pitched  into  Dick 
Rover  on  the  gridiron,"  answered  Pell. 

"Well,  I  wanted  to,  but  the  others  wouldn't 
have  it.  But  111  polish  him  off  some  day — and 
polish  off  Tom,  too,"  added  Sobber,  uglily. 

Two  of  the  small  boys  of  the  school  had  been 
taken  sick,  and  in  order  to  keep  them  quiet  they 
were  removed  to  the  top  floor  of  the  institution, 
and  one  of  the  colored  waiters  was  ordered  to 
carry  their  meals  up  to  them.  Dick  knew  both 
of  the  lads,  and  he  frequently  went  up  to  pay 
''them  a  visit  and  cheer  them  up  a  bit. 

One  day  he  was  just  returning  from  a  visit  to 
the  sick  students  when  he  heard  a  noise  in  the 
hallway  on  the  second  floor.  He  looked  down 
the  stairs  and  saw  Tom  and  Tad  Sobber  near  a 
landing,  having  a  wordy  quarrel.  Nick  Pell  was 
approaching  and  so  were  Fred  and  Hans. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  STAIRS        .  95 

"For  two  pins  I'd  give  you  a  good  thrashing, 
Rover,"  the  bully  was  saying.  "You  can't  lord 
it  over  me,  understand  that." 

"Well,  I  want  you  to  keep  your  distance,  Tad 
Sobber,"  returned  Tom.  "And  I  stick  to  it  that 
you  kicked  me  on  purpose  during  the  football 
game." 

Both  boys  were  walking  to  the  stairs  landing, 
and  Dick  and  the  others  who  heard  the  words 
followed.  Then  of  a  sudden  the  crowd  that  was 
gathered  saw  Sobber  catch  Tom  by  the  throat. 

"Le — let  go !"  gasped  Tom. 

"Take  that!"  retorted  the  bully,  and  banged 
Tom's  head  against  the  wall. 

There  was  a  scuffle  near  the  stairs,  and  both 
boys  fell  up  against  the  railing. 

"Look  out,  Tom!"  cried  Dick.  "He'll  throw 
you  down  the  stairs !"  And  he  tried  to  go  to  his 
brother's  assistance.  But  before  he  could  reach 
the  spot  the  two  contestants  had  separated. 

"That  for  you!"  roared  Sobber,  and  aimed  a 
blow  for  Tom's  eye.  Tom  dodged,  and  then  let 
out  with  his  right  fist.  The  blow  landed  on  the 
bully's  chin.  He  tottered  backward,  lost  his  bal 
ance,  and  pitched  down  the  stairs. 

Just  as  the  bully  went  backwards,  a  side  door 
of  the  mess  hall  opened  and  the  colored  waiter 
who  carried  the  food  to  the  sick  lads  upstairs 
came  out.  He  held  a  trayful  of  dainties  in  his 


96  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

hands.  Crash!  came  Sobber  into  the  tray,  and 
he  and  the  dishes  and  the  waiter  went  to  the 
floor  in  a  confused  heap. 

"Fo'  de  Ian'  sake!"  gasped  the  waiter.  "What 
fo'  you  dun  dat  to  me?" 

"Oh!"  groaned  the  bully,  and  tried  to  get  up. 
,On  one  cheek  he  had  a  dab  of  jelly  and  his  hand 
and  shirt  front  were  covered  with  broth.  The 
sight  was  such  a  comical  one  that  the  boys  on 
the  landing  could  not  help  but  laugh. 

"Yo'  dun  bust  de  whole  dinnah  up!"  was  the 
waiter's  comment,  as  he  arose  and  surveyed  the 
wreck.  The  food  had  been  scattered  in  all  direc 
tions  and  half  of  the  dishes  were  broken. 

"It  wasn't  my  fault!"  growled  Tad  Sobber. 
"Tom  Rover  knocked  me  down  the  stairs." 

"It  was  your  own  fault,"  cried  Tom.  "You 
started  the  fight,  I  didn't." 

"Somebody's  got  to  pay  fo'  dis  smash,"  said 
the  waiter.  "I  ain't  gwine  to  do  it.  Why,  I 
ought  to  sue  yo'  fo'  damages,  dat's  wot!"  he 
added,  glaring  wrathfully  at  Sobber. 

"I'll  fix  Tom  Rover  for  this!"  exclaimed  the 
bully,  and  looked  up  the  stairs  at  the  laughing 
students.  "I'll  make  him  laugh  on  the  other  side 
of  his  face!" 

And  he  ran  up  the  stairs  with  the  intention  of 
attacking  Tom 


CHAPTER   XIII 

DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE 

THAT  Tad  Sobber  was  in  a  thorough  rage  was 
easily  to  be  seen.  His  eyes  were  full  of  hate  and 
he  looked  ready  to  fly  at  Tom  and  tear  him  to 
pieces. 

All  of  the  boys  expected  to  see  a  great  fight, 
and  some  backed  away  from  the  landing,  to  give 
the  contestants  more  room. 

But  before  anything  could  be  done  Dick  leaped 
to  the  front  and  barred  the  bully's  further  prog 
ress. 

"Stop  it,  Sobber,"  he  said  quietly  but  firmly. 

"Get  out  of  my  way,  Dick  Rover!"  roared  the 
bully.  "This  is  none  of  your  affair." 

"Then  I'll  make  it  my  affair,"  answered  the 
eldest  Rover  boy.  "You  shall  not  attack  my 
brother  here." 

"Don't  worry,  Dick — I  can  take  care  of  him," 
put  in  Tom,  undauntedly,  and  doubled  up  his 
fists.  "Maybe  he'd  like  to  go  down  stairs  again 
and  smash  some  more  dishes." 

"Not  when  John  Fly  am  carryin'  dem,"  put  in 


98  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

the  colored  waiter,  who  stood  looking  at  the 
wreckage  with  a  sober  face.  "I  don't  want  no 
moah  such  knockovers,  I  don't!"  And  he  shook 
his  woolly  head  decidedly. 

The  noise  had  summoned  numerous  cadets  to 
the  scene,  and  now  George  Strong,  the  head 
teacher,  appeared. 

"What  is  the  trouble  here?"  he  demanded. 

For  the  moment  nobody  answered  him,  and  he 
gazed  in  wonderment  at  the  broken  dishes  and 
the  scattered  food. 

"Been  a  accident,  sah,"  said  John  Fly.  "Dat 
young  gen'man  dun  fall  down  de  stairs  an'  knock 
me  ober,  tray  an'  all,  sah." 

"Did  you  fall  down  stairs,  Sobber?" 

"No,  sir,  I  was  thrown  down  by  Tom  Rover," 
replied  the  bully. 

"Thrown  down?"  repeated  the  head  teacher  in 
surprise. 

"He  attacked  me  and  I  hit  back,"  explained 
Tom.  "It  was  his  own  fault  that  he  fell  down 
stairs.  Had  he  let  me  alone  there  would  have 
been  no  trouble." 

"It  is  false — he  hit  me  first,"  said  the  bully. 

"That  is  not  so,"  cried  Fred.  "Sobber  struck 
the  first  blow." 

"Yah,  dot  is  der  fact  alretty,"  put  in  Hans. 
"He  vos  caught  Dom  py  der  throat  und  knock 
his  head  py  der  vail  chust  so  hard  like  nefer  vos !" 


CRASH  !   CAME   SOBBER   INTO   THE   TRAY. — Page  96, 
over  Boys  on  the  Farm. 


DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE  99 

"He  hit  me  first,  didn't  he,  Nick?"  said  the 
bully,  turning  to  his  crony. 

"I— I  think  he  did,"  stammered  Nick  Pell. 
He  did  not  dare  to  tell  an  outright  falsehood.  "I 
think  it  was  all  Tom  Rover's  fault,"  he  added, 
after  a  surly  look  from  Sobber. 

"All  of  you  know  it  is  against  the  rules  to 
fight  in  this  school,"  said  Mr.  Strong,  sternly. 

"Well,  I  only  fought  after  I  was  attacked," 
answered  Tom,  doggedly. 

"Mr.  Strong,  whether  you  believe  it  or  not,  my 
brother  speaks  the  plain  truth,"  came  from  Dick. 
"I  was  coming  from  Larmore's  room  and  saw  it 
all.  Had  you  been  in  Tom's  place  you  would 
have  done  as  he  did." 

These  plain  words  from  Dick  made  George 
Strong  hesitate.  He  knew  the  Rover  boys  well, 
and  knew  that  they  were  generally  in  the  right. 
More  than  this,  he  had  caught  Tad  Sobber  in  a 
falsehood  only  the  day  before. 

"You  may  all  go  to  your  rooms  and  I  will  see 
about  this  later,"  he  said.  "Sobber,  as  you  broke 
the  dishes,  you  will  have  to  pay  for  them." 

"Can't  Ro^er  pay  half  the  bill?"  growled  the 
oully. 

"No,  for  I  cannot  see  how  he  is  to  blame  for 
that." 

After  this  some  sharp  words  followed.  Tad 
Sobber  was  impudent,  and  as  a  consequence  was 


100  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

marched  off  to  a  storeroom  which  was  occasion 
ally  used  as  a  "guardhouse"  by  the  teachers  and 
Captain  Putnam.  Here  he  had  to  stay  in  soli 
tary  confinement  for  twenty-four  hours  and  on 
the  plainest  kind  of  a  diet.  This  imprisonment 
made  Sobber  furious,  and  he  vowed  he  would 
get  square  with  Tom  and  Dick  for  it  if  it  cost 
him  his  life. 

"They  may  have  been  able  to  down  other  fel 
lows  in  this  school,  but  they  shan't  down  me," 
was  what  he  told  Nick  Pell. 

"Well,  you  want  to  go  slow  in  what  you  do," 
answered  Pell.  "I've  been  talking  to  some  of  the 
others  and  I've  learned  that  they  got  the  best  of 
several  fellows  who  were  here  at  different  times 
— Dan  Baxter,  Lew  Flapp  and  some  others." 

"Humph !  I  am  not  afraid  of  them,"  growled 
Tad  Sobber.  "I  suppose  they  think,  because  they 
are  rich  and  have  traveled  some,  they  can  lord  it 
over  everybody.  Well,  I'll  show  them  a  trick 
or  two  before  I'm  done  with  them." 

After  Tad  Sobber  came  out  of  confinement  the 
Rover  boys  thought  he  might  try  to  play  some 
underhand  trick  on  Tom,  and  consequently  kept 
their  eyes  open.  But  nothing  developed  for  some 
days,  and  then  it  came  in  a  most  unexpected  way. 

The  boys  settled  down  to  their  studies,  but  it 
was  not  in  their  nature  to  'go  in  for  all  work  and 
no  play.  On  the  following  Saturday  they  asked 


DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE  IQI 

for  permission  to  visit  Cedarville,  to  buy  some 
things  Sam  and  Tom  needed.  They  took  with 
them  Songbird  and  Hans,  and  went  on  foot,  the 
weather  being  ideal  for  walking.  Just  before 
leaving  they  saw  Sobber  and  Pell  hurry  away, 
also  in  the  direction  of  the  town. 

"I  wonder  where  they  are  going?"  mused  Dick 

"Sobber  is  going  to  take  a  run  by  steamboat  to 
Ithaca,"  answered  Songbird.  "I  heard  him  speak 
to  Captain  Putnam  about  it." 

"Is  Pell  going  along?" 

"I  don't  think  so." 

The  three  Rover  boys  and  their  friends  were 
soon  on  the  way.  They  felt  in  the  best  of  spirits, 
and  Powell  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
break  out  into  his  usual  doggerel : 

"I  love  to  roam  o'er  hill  and  dale, 
In  calm  or  storm  or  windy  gale, 
I  love  the  valley  and  the  hill, 
The  brooklet  and  the  running  rill, 
I  love  the  broad  and  placid  lake " 

"Where  we  can  swim  or  take  a  skate," 

finished  Torn,  and  then  went  on: 

"And  just  remember,  of  the  rest, 
I  love  old  Putnam  Hall  the  best!" 

"That  last  sentiment  hits  me,"  said  Fred.  "Tell 
you  what,  fellows,  no  place  like  our  school." 


102  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"I  dink  I  make  me  some  boetry  alretty,"  said 
Hans,  solemnly,  and  began: 

"I  lof  to  hear  der  insects  hum, 
I  lof  to  chew  on  chewing  gum  ! 
I  lof  to  see  der  moon  shine  owit " 

"And  love  to  eat  my  sauerkraut," 

added  Tom  gaily.  ''Songbird,  can't  you  get  up 
some  real  nice  bit  of  verse  about  sauerkraut  and 
Limburger  cheese  for  Hans'  benefit?" 

"The  idea  of  poetry  about  sauerkraut  and 
Limburger  cheese!"  snorted  the  verse  maker  in 
disgust. 

"Well,  anyway,  the  lines  about  the  cheese 
would  be  good  and  strong,"  was  Dick's  com 
ment. 

"A  poem  about  sauerkraut  wouldn't  do  for  this 
automobile  age,"  said  Sam,  dryly. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Tom. 

"Because  sauerkraut  belongs  to  the  cabb-age," 
answered  the  youngest  Rover,  and  then  dodged 
a  blow  Tom  playfully  aimed  at  him. 

"I  shan't  try  to  make  up  any  more  verses," 
said  Songbird.  "Every  time  I  try " 

"Hullo,  here  comes  a  carriage  with  three  young 
ladies  in  it,"  called  out  Dick. 

"They  look  familiar  to  me,"  announced  Tom. 
"Yes,  they  are  Dora  Stanhope  and  Grace  and 
Nellie  Laning!"  he  cried. 


DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE  103 

"Well,  this  is  a  pleasure,"  said  Songbird,  and 
forgot  all  about  what  he  was  going  to  say  con" 
cerning  his  verse  making. 

The  carriage  was  soon  up  to  them.  It  was  a 
two-seated  affair,  and  on  the  front  seat  were 
Dora  and  Nellie  and  in  the  rear  Grace  and  Mrs. 
Stanhope. 

"We  were  going  to  stop  at  Putnam  Hall  for  a 
few  minutes,"  said  Dora,  after  the  greetings  were 
over.  "It  was  such  a  lovely  day  we  couldn't  re 
sist  the  temptation  to  go  out  for  a  long  drive." 

"Sorry  we  won't  be  at  the  Hall  to  receive  you," 
answered  Dick,  and  he  gave  Dora  such  an  earnest 
look  that  the  pretty  girl  blushed. 

"The  girls  have  something  up  their  sleeve," 
said  Mrs.  Stanhope.  "And  they  wanted  to  see 
you  and  Captain  Putnam  about  it." 

"We  are  getting  up  a  little  party,"  announced 
Nellie.  "It  is  to  come  off  at  Dora's  home  some 
time  this  fall.  We  wanted  to  find  out  if  Captain 
Putnam  would  let  you  and  a  few  of  your  friends 
come  over." 

"Oh,  he'll  have  to  let  us  come!"  cried  Tom. 
"Why,  I  wouldn't  miss  a  party  for  anything!" 
And  he  said  this  so  comically  that  all  of  the  girls 
laughed. 

"We  haven't  set  any  date  yet,"  said  Grace. 
"But  you'll  speak  to  Captain  Putnam  about  it, 
won't  you?  We  thought  you  might  make  up  a 


104  ROFEK  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

party  of  say  eight  or  ten  boys,  and  come  over  in 
the  carryall." 

"It's  as  good  as  done,"  announced  Sam,  with 
a  profound  bow.  "Please  put  me  down  on  your 
card  for  the  first  two-step." 

"Und  put  me  town  for  a  dree-steps,"  added 
Hans,  and  at  this  there  was  another  laugh. 

"I  don't  know  whether  we'll  have  dancing  or 
not,"  said  Mrs.  Stanhope.  "But  we'll  try  to  have 
a  good  time." 

"Who  do  you  want  us  to  invite — if  we  can 
come?"  questioned  Dick. 

"Oh,  Dick,  we'll  leave  that  to  you.  Of  course 
we  want  all  who  were  on  the  houseboat,"  and 
Dora  looked  at  the  Rovers  and  Songbird  and 
Hans. 

"With  Fred  that  will  make  six.  Shall  I  ask 
Larry  Colby  and  George  Granbury?" 

"If  you  want  to — and  two  more.  But  please 
don't  ask  those  boys  we  just  met,"  went  on 
Dora,  hastily. 

"You  mean  Tad  Sobber  and  Nick  Pell  ?"  ques 
tioned  Tom,  quickly. 

"One  called  the  other  Nick.  He  was  a  very 
large  lad,"  said  Mrs.  Stanhope. 

"Sobber  and  Pell  sure,"  murmured  Tom. 
"What  did  they  do?" 

"Stood  right  in  the  middle  of  the  road  and 


DORA,  GRACE  AND  NELLIE  105 

would  not  get  out  of  the  way,"  explained  Grace. 
"I  think  they  were  perfectly  horrid!" 

"They  made  us  drive  around  to  one  side  and 
we  nearly  went  into  a  ditch,"  added  Dora. 

"And  then,  after  we  had  passed,  they  burst 
out  laughing  at  us,"  continued  Nellie.  "They 
certainly  weren't  a  bit  nice." 

"We'll  have  to  settle  with  Sobber  and  Pell  for 
this,"  said  Dick,  and  his  face  took  on  a  serious 
look  that  bode  no  good  for  the  cadets  who  had 
played  so  ungallant  a  part  towards  his  lady 


CHAPTER   XIV 

AT    THE    ICE-CREAM    ESTABIJSHMENT 

THE  Lanings  and  the  Stanhopes  had  been  in 
the  best  of  health  since  returning  from  the  south. 
Mrs.  Stanhope  was  no  more  the  pale  and  delicate 
person  she  had  been,  and  her  former  nervous 
manner  was  entirely  gone.  The  cheeks  of  the 
three  girls  were  like  roses,  and  it  was  no  wonder 
that  the  Rovers  thought  them  the  nicest  young 
ladies  in  the  whole  world. 

"Wish  we  were  in  a  carriage,"  observed  Tom, 
after  the  turnout  had  gone  on.  "Then  we  might 
have  gone  for  a  drive  together." 

"I  know  what  Tom  would  like,"  said  Sam. 
"A  nice  buggy  and  a  slow  horse,  and  Nellie  be 
side  him " 

"Humph,  please  change  the  names  to  Sam  and 
Grace  and  you'll  hit  it  closer,"  answered  Tom,  his 
face  growing  red. 

"I'm  going  to  make  up  a  poem  about  them  some 
day,"  said  Songbird.  "I  shall  call  it — let  me 
see — ah,  yes — The  Three  Fair  Maidens  of  Ce- 
darville," 

106 


AT  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT     107 

"Don't!"  cried  Dick.  "Songbird,  if  you  dare 
to  do  anything  like  that " 

"You'll  have  to  leave  Dora  out  anyway,"  said 
Tom.  "If  you  don't,  Dick  will  get  in  your  wool 
sure.  He " 

"Say,  what  about  Sobber  and  Pell?"  broke  in 
the  eldest  Rover,  his  face  quite  red.  "I  feel  like 
punishing  them  for  making  the  ladies  drive  into 
the  ditch." 

"We'll  remember  it,"  answered  Sam.  "If  we 
catch  them  in  Cedarville  let's  speak  of  it  and  see 
what  they  have  to  say  for  themselves." 

"Speaking  about  a  party,"  observed  Songbird, 
as  they  approached  the  village,  "do  you  realize 
that  we  haven't  had  any  sort  of  a  feast  at  the 
Hall  since  we  got  back  to  the  grind  ?" 

"Fred  was  saying  the  same  thing  only  a  few 
days  ago,"  answered  Tom.  "We  certainly  ought 
to  have  some  sort  of  a  blow-out." 

"Vot  you  vos  going  to  plow  owid?"  asked 
Hans  innocently. 

"Blow  out  the  stuffings  from  a  mince  pv% 
Hansy." 

"Vere  you  vos  plow  dem  to,  Dom?" 

"Blow  them  into  your  stomach.  Have  a 
spread — a  feast — a  fill-up,  so  to  speak — some 
thing  to  eat,  cheese,  sandwiches,  cake,  pie,  pud 
ding,  jam,  oranges,  bananas,  lard,  salt,  plum  pud 
ding,  toothpicks,  ice-cream,  turnips,  and  other 


108  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

delicacies,"  went  on  the  fun-loving  Rover,  rap 
idly. 

"Ach,  yah,  I  understand  now,  ain't  it!  I  like 
dem  feasts.  Ve  haf  him  in  von  of  der  pedrooms 
alretty  yet,  hey?" 

"If  the  crowd  is  willing,"  said  Sam.  "For  one, 
I  vote  in  favor  of  it." 

"Second  the  nomination,"  put  in  Tom, 
promptly.  "It  is  elected  by  a  unanimous  vote  we 
have  a  feast  at  the  school,  some  night  in  the  near 
future,  at  eleven  o'clock,  G.  M." 

The  idea  of  a  feast  pleased  all  the  boys.  They 
always  got  enough  to  eat  during  regular  meal 
hours  at  the  Hall,  but  there  was  something  en 
ticing  in  the  idea  of  having  a  feast  on  the  sly  some 
night  in  one  of  the  dormitories.  They  had  had 
a  number  of  such  in  the  past  and  these  had  been 
productive  of  a  good  deal  of  sport. 

"Let  us  go  down  to  the  steamboat  landing  and 
see  if  we  can  see  anything  of  Pell  and  Sobber," 
suggested  Dick.  "If  Sobber  is  going  to  Ithaca 
he'll  most  likely  go  by  the  Golden  Star." 

They  were  walking  along  the  main  street  of 
Cedarville  when  they  chanced  to  look  into  the 
principal  candy  store.  There,  in  front  of  the 
soda  fountain,  were  the  bully  of  the  Hall  and  his 
crony.  They  were  drinking  soda  and  talking  to 
a  young  girl  who  had  served  them. 


'AT  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT 


109 


"Hullo,  here  they  are!"  cried  Sam,  and  came 
to  a  halt. 

As  they  looked  into  the  place  they  saw  Tad 
Sobber  reach  over  the  counter  and  catch  the  girl 
clerk  by  her  curls.  He  held  fast,  grinning  into 
her  face,  while  she  tried  to  pull  away  from  him. 

"The  mean  wretch !"  cried  Dick.  "He  tries  to 
make  himself  as  obnoxious  as  he  can  to  every 
body  he  meets." 

"Oh,  please  let  go!"  came  in  the  girl's  voice 
throxigh  the  open  doorway.  "You  hurt  me!" 

"Don't  worry,  I  won't  hurt  you,"  replied  Sob 
ber,  still  grinning. 

"But  I — I  don't  want  my  curls  pulled,"  pleaded 
the  frightened  girl.  "Oh,  please  let  go,  won't 
you?" 

"I  want  you "  began  the  bully,  but  did  not 

fmisli,  for  at  that  moment  he  felt  Dick's  hand  on 
his  ear.  Then  he  received  a  yank  that  pained 
him  exceedingly. 

"Ouch!"  he  yelled,  and  dropped  his  hold  of 
the  girl.  "Oh,  my  ear!  Dick  Rover,  what  did 
you  do  that  for?" 

"I  did  it  to  make  you  behave  yourself,"  an 
swered  Dick,  sternly.  "Sobber,  I  didn't  really 
think  you  could  be  so  mean,"  he  went  on. 

"I — I  wasn't  hurting  the  girl,"  grumbled  the 
bully.  "And  it's  none  of  your  business  anyway," 
he  added,  suddenly,  in  a  blaze  of  passion. 


HO  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"After  this,  you  leave  her  alone." 

Tad  Sobber  glared  at  Dick  for  an  instant.  Then 
he  raised  his  glass  of  soda  and  attempted  to  dash 
it  into  Dick's  face.  But  Sam  saw  the  movement, 
knocked  up  the  bully's  arm,  and  the  soda  went 
into  Nick  Pell's  ear. 

"Hi,  stop!"  roared  Nick  Pell,  as  the  soda 
trickled  down  his  neck.  "What  did  you  do  that 
for?" 

"It  was  Sam  Rover's  fault,"  answered  Sobber. 

"My  brand  new  collar  is  spoilt!" 

"Charge  it  to  your  crony,"  said  Tom. 

"I'll  fix  you  fellows!"  roared  the  bully,  and 
raised  the  empty  soda  glass  over  Dick's  head. 
But  now  Tom  rushed  in  and  wrenched  the  glass 
from  Sobber's  hand.  In  the  meantime  the  girl 
behind  the  counter  had  become  more  frightened 
than  ever  and  she  ran  to  the  back  of  the  store  to 
summon  assistance. 

It  looked  as  if  there  might  be  a  regular  fight, 
but  in  a  few  seconds  the  proprietor  of  the  store 
appeared,  armed  with  a  mop  stick  he  had  picked 
up.  He  happened  to  be  the  father  of  the  girl, 
and  she  told  him  how  Tad  Sobber  had  caught  her 
by  the  hair. 

"See  here,"  began  the  candy  store  keeper,  and 
flourished  his  mop  stick  at  the  bully.  Then  Sob 
ber  retreated  from  the  establishment  and  Nick 


AT  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT     m 

Pell  did  likewise,  and  both  started  on  a  run  up 
the  street. 

"What  do  you  cadets  mean  by  coming  in  here 
and  annoying  my  daughter  ?"  demanded  the  store 
keeper  hotly.  "If  you  can't  behave  yourselves, 
you  had  better  keep  away." 

"We  didn't  hurt  your  daughter,"  said  Sam. 

"My  brother  here  did  what  he  could  to  sav^ 
her  from  annoyance,"  said  Tom. 

"Oh,  I  know  you  cadets!  You  are  all  tarrH 
with  the  same  brush!"  muttered  the  storekeeper. 
'"I  want  you  to  get  out — and  stay  out !" 

"Yes,  but "  began  Dick. 

"No  'buts'  about  it,  young  man.  I  want  you  to 
get  out." 

"Father,  he  made  the  other  boy  let  go  of  my 
curls,"  explained  the  girl.  "He  caught  the  other 
boy  by  the  ear." 

"That  may  be,  Fanny,  but  these  young  bloods 
are  all  alike.  I  don't  want  their  trade.  They 
must  clear  out,  and  stay  away." 

"Come  on,  fellows,"  said  Dick.  "We'll  not 
stay  if  we  are  not  wanted."  He  turned  again  to 
the  storekeeper.  "But  I  want  you  to  remember 
one  thing :  We  had  nothing  to  do  with  annoying 
your  daughter." 

"Did  they  pay  for  the  soda?"  asked  the  man 
suddenly. 


112  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"No,"  replied  the  girl. 

"Then  this  crowd  has  got  to  pay,"  went  on  the 
storekeeper,  unreasonably.  "How  much  was 
it?" 

"Ten  cents." 

"We  haven't  bought  anything  and  we'll  not  pay 
for  anything,"  said  Sam. 

"Not  a  cent  shall  I  pay,"  put  in  Songbird. 

"Did  vos  a  outrages!"  burst  out  Hans.  "Of 
you  insult  us  some  more  I  vos  call  a  bolicemans 
alretty !"  And  he  puffed  up  his  chest  indignantly. 

"Well,  you  get  out,  and  be  quick  about  it!" 
cried  the  man,  and  raised  his  stick.  "Don't  let 
me  catch  any  of  you  in  here  again  either!" 

"Don't  worry, — we  can  spend  our  money  else 
where,"  said  Tom. 

"Where  we  are  treated  decently,"  added  Dick, 
and  walked  from  the  candy  store. 

Once  outside,  the  boys  talked  the  situation  over 
for  all  of  ten  minutes,  but  without  satisfaction. 
All  were  indignant  over  the  way  the  storekeeper 
had  treated  them,  and  Tom  wanted  to  go  back  on 
tke  sly  and  play  a  trick  on  him,  but  Dick  de 
murred. 

"Let  it  go,  Tom.  He  is  a  mean  man,  that's 
aU." 

"Well,  I  am  going  to  show  folks  how  generous 
he  is,"  answered  Tom,  with  a  sudden  grin.  "Wait 


A  T  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT     j  1 3 

here  a  few  minutes,"  and  he  darted  into  a  nearby 
store  where  they  sold  stationery.  When  he  came 
out  he  had  a  good-sized  sheet  of  paper  in  his  hand 
and  also  several  big  red  seals. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Sam. 

"It's  a  sign  for  the  candy  storekeeper's  front 
window." 

With  caution  Tom  went  back  to  the  store.  He 
saw  that  the  proprietor  was  in  the  rear  parlor, 
dishing  out  ice-cream  to  several  customers  who 
had  come  in.  The  'girl  was  also  at  the  back. 
Swiftly  Tom  stuck  the  sheet  of  paper  up  under 
the  show  window,  fastening  it  with  the  gummy 
seals.  The  paper  read  as  follows : 

FREE   BOUQUETS   OF  ROSES   TO   ALL 

YOUNG  LADIES  BUYING  ICE-CREAM 

HERE  TO-DAY.     COME  IN! 

"Now  let  us  watch  for  some  fun,"  said  Tom. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait  The  steamboat 
had  come  in  and  a  number  of  passengers  were 
walking  up  the  street.  Soon  a  party  of  three 
girls  and  a  young  man  espied  the  sign. 
\  "Oh,  Clara,"  cried  one  of  the  girls.  "Free 
TQSCS  this  time  of  year,  just  think  of  it !" 

"Come  on  right  in,"  saki  the  young  man,  and 
led  the  way  into  the  store.  Then  another  young 


II4  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

man  came  along  with  a  girl  and  they  also  read 
the  sign  and  entered.  Soon  two  old  maids 
stopped  and  read  the  announcement. 

"I  do  love  ice-cream,  Angelina,"  said  one.  "Let 
us  go  in  and  get  chocolate  and  get  the  bouquets, 
too."  And  they  followed  the  crowd  inside.  ; 

The  store  had  two  side  windows  to  it,  which 
were  opened  a  few  inches  from  the  bottom  for 
ventilation,  and  the  cadets  stole  up  to  these  win 
dows  to  listen  to  the  talk.  Everybody  ordered 
cream  and  began  to  eat,  and  then  asked  for  the 
bouquets. 

"Bouquets?"  asked  the  storekeeper,  mystified. 

"Why,  yes,"  said  the  young  man  who  had 
brought  in  the  three  girls. 

"If  you  don't  mind,  I'd  like  Jack  roses,"  said 
one  of  the  maidens. 

"And  I  like  American  Beauties,"  said  another. 

"I  don't  care  what  kind  I  get  so  long  as  it  is 
a  big  bunch,"  added  the  third  girl. 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  demanded  the 
storekeeper. 

"We  are  talking  about  the  bouquets  you  are 
giving  away,"  said  the  young  man.  He  had 
eaten  nearly  all  of  his  cream  and  the  girls  had 
almost  finished. 

"I  am  giving  away  no  bouquets." 

"Why,  yes  you  are!"  cried  the  girls. 

"Of  course!"  put  in  one  of  the  old  maids,  sus- 


AT  THE  ICE-CREAM  ESTABLISHMENT     115 

piciously.  "And  I  want  just  as  good  a  bunch  of 
roses  as  anybody." 

"So  do  I,"  added  the  second  old  maid. 

"Are  you  folks  all  crazy  ?"  demanded  the  store 
keeper.  "I  am  not  giving  away  anything." 

"What!"  demanded  the  young  man  who  had 
come  in  with  one  girl.  "Your  sign  don't  read 
that  way.  It  says  'free  bouquets  of  roses  to  all 
young  ladies  buying  ice-cream  here  to-day.' 
You've  got  to  give  this  young  lady  her  bouquet 
or  I  won't  pay  for  this  cream!" 

<fWhere  is  that  sign?"  demanded  the  store 
keeper,  and  when  told  rushed  out  and  tore  the 
announcement  down  and  into  shreds.  "This  is 
a — an  outrage !  I  didn't  put  the  sign  up !" 

After  this  there  was  a  wordy  war  lasting  sev 
eral  minutes.  Nobody  wanted  to  pay  for  the 
cream  eaten,  and  as  he  could  not  furnish  the 
bouquets  the  storekeeper  could  not  collect.  In 
a  rage  he  chased  the  would-be  customers  out  and 
then  started  to  look  for  the  person  who  had  played 
him  such  a  trick.  But  the  cadets  of  Putnam  Hall 
had  withdrawn  from  that  vicinity  and  they  took 
\good  care  to  keep  out  of  sight 


CHAPTER   XV 

AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT 

THE  steamboat  had  to  take  on  considerable 
freight  at  Cedarville,  so  she  remained  at  the  little 
dock  for  the  best  part  of  half  an  hour.  During 
that  time  the  Rovers  and  their  friends  saw  Tad 
Sobber  and  Nick  Pell  walking  around  the  village, 
but  did  not  speak  to  them. 

"Hullo,  here  is  something  new,"  said  Songbird, 
as  they  walked  past  the  stores.  "A  dime 
museum !" 

"Such  a  thing  as  that  will  never  pay  here," 
was  Dick's  comment.  "Not  enough  people." 

"It  is  to  remain  only  one  week,"  said  Sam, 
after  reading  the  sign  over  the  door. 

"Wonder  if  they  really  have  one  hundred 
snakes  in  the  collection?"  mused  Tom,  also  read 
ing  the  sign.  "If  so,  there  would  be  some  fun 
if  the  bunch  broke  loose." 

"Want  to  go  in  and  look  at  the  snakes?"  asked 
Songbird. 

"I  ton't,"  answered  Hans.  "Of  I  look  at  so 
US 


AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT  117 

many  of  dem  nasty  dings  I  couldn't  sleep  for  a 
month  or  seien  days,  ain't  it!"  And  he  shud 
dered. 

While  the  boys  were  walking  away  tfiey 
chanced  to  look  back  and  saw  Tad  Sobber  and 
Nick  Pell  come  from  the  "museum,"  so  called. 
The  bully  was  talking  to  a  man  connected  with 
the  show,  a  fellow  who  usually  stood  outside, 
"barking"  as  it  is  called, — that  is,  asking  folks  to 
come  up  and  walk  in  and  see  the  wonders  inside, 

"Sobber  must  know  that  fellow,"  was  Dick's 
comment,  but  thought  no  more  of  this  until  long 
afterwards.  A  little  later  they  saw  the  bully 
embark  on  the  steamboat,  and  Nick  Pell  started 
back  for  Putnam  Hall  alone. 

The  boys  purchased  the  things  they  wanted 
and  returned  to  the  school.  They  did  not  see 
Nick  Pell  until  the  following  day,  and  then  the 
latter  paid  no  attention  to  them.  Sobber  did  not 
return  to  Putnam  Hall  for  the  best  part  of  a 
week.  Then  he  appeared  very  thoughtful  and  he 
eyed  all  of  the  Rover  boys  in  a  crafty,  speculative 
way. 

"He  has  got  it  in  for  us,"  said  Tom,  but  how 
much  Tad  Sobber  "had  it  in"  for  the  Rovers  was 
still  to  be  learned. 

The  boys  had  not  forgotten  about  the  pro 
posed  feast,  and  it  was  arranged  that  it  should 
come  off  in  the  dormitory  occupied  by  the  Rovers 


Ii8  ROVER  BOYS  .ON  THE  FARV 

and  some  others  on  the  following  Tuesday  night 
as  soon  as  all  the  lights  were  out.  Word  was 
passed  around  quietly,  and  the  Rover  boys 
thought  that  only  their  intimate  friends  knew 
of  what  was  going  on,  but  they  were  mistaken. 

By  pure  accident  Nick  Pell  overheard  Larry 
Colby  and  Fred  Garrison  speaking  of  the  feast. 
It  had  been  arranged  that  Larry  and  Fred  should 
contribute  a  big  raisin  cake  and  the  two  boys 
were  wondering  how  they  could  get  it  from  the 
bake  shop  in  Cedarville  and  up  to  the  dormitory 
without  being  seen. 

"Never  mind,  we'll  manage  it  somehow,  if  we 
have  to  use  a  rope,"  said  Larry. 

"They  are  going  to  have  a  spread,"  said  Nick 
Pell,  running  up  to  Tad  Sobber  with  the  story. 
"We  ought  to  tell  Captain  Putnam  and  spoil 
things  for  them." 

"That  won't  do  us  any  good,  Nick,"  answered 
the  bully.  "The  captain  thinks  too  much  of  the 
Rovers — he  wouldn't  punish  them  much,  espe 
cially  as  this  is  their  last  term  here.  I'll  think  up 
something  else.  I  want  to  do  something  to  'em 
that  they  will  remember  as  long  as  they  live." 

"You  seem  to  be  extra  bitter  against  the 
Rovers  since  you  got  back  from  It!'^ca,"  said 
Pell,  curiously. 

"Am  I  ?  Well.  I  have  good  cause  to  be  bitter," 
growled  Tad  Sobber.  "Just  let  me  put  on  my 


AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT 


119 


thinking  cap,  and  I'll  fix  'em,  and  don't  you  for 
get  it!" 

That  night  the  bully  asked  for  permission  to 
go  to  Cedarville  on  important  business.  He  went 
alone,  and  once  in  the  town  hurried  directly  to 
the  museum  already  mentioned.  The  proprietor 
had  done  little  or  no  business  in  the  village  and 
was  about  to  move  to  another  place. 

When  Tad  Sobber  returned  to  Putnam  Hall 
he  carried  under  his  arm  a  heavy  pasteboard  box 
which  he  carried  with  great  care.  This  box  he 
hid  away  in  a  corner  of  the  barn,  among  some 
loose  hay. 

"I'm  ready  to  fix  the  Rovers  now,"  he  told 
Nick  Pell.  "Keep  your  mouth  shut  but  your 
eyes  wide  open." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"Just  wait  and  see." 

At  the  appointed  time  the  Rovers  and  their 
chums  assembled  in  the  dormitory  for  the  feast. 
A  large  quantity  of  good  things  had  been  pro 
cured,  including  chicken  sandwiches,  cake, 
oranges  and  lemonade.  Tom  had  even  had  a 
dealer  in  Cedarville  pack  him  up  several  bricks 
of  ice-cream,  and  these  now  rested  in  some 
cracked  ice  in  a  washbowl. 

"Say,  but  this  is  a  touch  of  old  times,"  said 
Sam.  "Do  you  remember  the  first  feast  we  had 
here,  when  Mumps  got  scared  to  death  ?" 


120  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"Indeed  I  do !"  cried  one  of  the  other  students. 
"Here's  to  the  good  old  times!"  and  he  raised 
his  glass  of  lemonade  to  his  lips. 

In  a  short  while  the  feast  was  in  full  swing. 
There  was  a  hall  monitor  supposed  to  be  on 
guard,  but  Tom  had  bought  him  off  with  a  slice 
of  cake,  some  candy  and  an  orange,  and  he  was 
keeping  himself  in  a  front  hallway,  where  he 
could  not  hear  what  was  going  on. 

"If  it  wasn't  for  the  noise,  we  might  have  a 
song,"  said  Sam.  "As  it  is,  I  move  Songbird 
recite  'Mary  Had  a  Little  Cow,'  or  something 
equally  elevating." 

"I  can  give  you  an  original  bit  of  versv;  whicn 
I  have  entitled,  'When  the  Blossoms  Fill  the  Or 
chard,  Molly  Dear,' "  answered  the  doggerel 
maker. 

"Gracious,  that  sounds  like  a  new  nine-cent 
piece  of  sheet  music,"  murmured  Dick. 

"Can't  you  whistle  it?"  suggested  Tom.  "It 
may  sound  better." 

"Play  it  out  on  a  fine-tooth  comb,"  suggested 
Larry. 

"Who  is  ready  for  ice-cream?"  asked  Tom, 
after  a  general  laugh  had  ensued.  "This  isn't 
going  to  keep  hard  forever." 

All  were  ready,  and  the  bricks  were  cut,  the 
pieces  laid  on  tiny  wooden  plates  which  had  been 


AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT  121 

provided,  and  passed  around.     Then  came  more 
cake  and  fruit. 

In  the  midst  of  the  jollification  there  came  a 
sudden  and  unexpected  knock  on  the  door. 

"Who  can  that  be?"  whispered  several  in 
alarm. 

"Put  out  the  lights !"  said  Tom.     "Those  who ' 
don't  belong  here  get  under  the  beds."     And  he 
began  to  get  the  evidences  of  the  feast  out  of 
sight,  Dick  and  Sam  assisting  him. 

With  quaking  hearts  the  merry-makers  waited 
for  the  knock  to  be  repeated,  and  waited  to  hear 
the  sound  of  Captain  Putnam's  voice  or  that  of 
the  first  assistant  teacher. 

"Bartlett  mrght  have  warned  us,"  whispered 
Fred.  Bartlett  was  the  monitor  who  had  been 
bribed. 

No  other  knock  came  on  the  door,  nor  did  any 
body  demand  admittance.  The  boys  waited  for 
several  seconds,  each  holding  his  breath  in  anx 
iety. 

"Who  can  it  be?"  asked  Sam  of  his  oldest 
brother. 

"I  suppose  I  might  as  well  go  and  see,"  said 
Dick.  "Maybe  some  of  the  other  fellows  are  up 
to  some  tricks." 

With  caution  he  approached  the  hall  door  and 
opened  it.  Only  a  dim  light  was  burning,  and 


122  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

for  the  instant  he  could  see  nothing.  Then  he 
caught  sight  of  a  white  object  on  the  floor  and 
picked  it  up.  It  was  a  pasteboard  box,  tied  with 
a  strong  string. 

"This  must  be  some  kind  of  a  joke,"  he  said, 
and  came  back  into  the  dormitory  with  the  box 
in  his  hands.  "Light  up  and  let  me  see  what  this 
is." 

The  lights  were  lit  and  several  of  the  boys 
began  to  eat  the  stuff  that  had  been  swept  out  of 
sight.  They  all  gazed  curiously  at  the  paste 
board  box. 

"Here's  a  card  on  the  top,"  said  Dick,  and 
commenced  to  read  it.  The  inscription  was  as 
follows : 

To  the  Rover  Boys 

From  Their  Friends, 

Dora,  Grace  and  Nellie. 

Keep  it  a  secret  among  you  and  your 
chums  at  the  feast. 

"How  in  the  world  did  they  know  we  were  go 
ing  to  have  a  feast?"  questioned  Sam. 

"And  how  did  they  manage  to  smuggle  the 
box  into  the  Hall  ?"  asked  Larry. 

"Open  it  and  see  what's  inside,  Dick,"  came 
from  Tom.  "I'll  wager  they  have  sent  us  some 
thing  good." 


FROM  OUT  OF  THE  BOX  GLIDED  A   REAL,   LIVE   SNAKE.— Page 
The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Farm. 


AN  ASTONISHING  GIFT 


123 


"Maybe  it's  a  loaf  cake,"  said  Fred. 

"Oder  a  pudding,"  broke  in  Hans.  "I  lof 
chocolate  puddings,  yah!" 

"You  can't  pack  a  pudding  in  a  box  very  well/' ' 
commented  Songbird. 

Holding  the  box  in  one  hand,  Dick  undid  the 
string  and  threw  off  the  cover. 

The  next  instant  he  let  out  a  yell  of  horror  and 
Tom,  who  was  near  by,  did  likewise  and  fell  over 
a  chair  in  his  fright. 

For  out  of  the  box  glided  d  real,  live  snake, 
fully  three  feet  long,  and  with  beady  and  dan 
gerous  looking  eyes ! 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE  HUNT   FOR  A   SNAKE 

"IT'S  a  snake!" 

"And  it's  alive!" 

"Look  out,  or  he'll  bite  you!" 

"There  he  goes  on  the  floor!" 

These  and  a  number  of  other  cries  rang 
through  the  dormitory  as  the  cadets  saw  the  con 
tents  of  the  box.  Several  tried  to  back  away, 
and  Hans  pitched  over  Tom  and  both  went  in  a 
heap. 

"Ton't  you  let  dot  snake  bite  me!"  roared  the 
German  youth. 

"Maybe  he's  poisonous!"  came  from  Larry. 
He  had  sought  safety  by  leaping  on  a  bed. 
»  Slowly  the  snake  had  lifted  itself  from  the 
tjbox,  to  glare  at  several  of  the  boys.  Then  it's 
tcold,  beady  eyes  were  fixed  on  Dick  and  it  uttered 
a  vicious  hiss.  This  was  more  than  the  eldest 
Rover  could  stand  and  he  let  box  and  snake  drop 
in  a  hurry.  The  snake  glided  out  of  sight  under 
a  bed. 

124 


THE  HUNT  FOR  A  SNAKE 


125 


"This  is  a  joke  right  enough,"  murmured  Sam. 
"Wonder  who  played  it?" 

"Do  you  think  the  girls  would  send  a  snake  ?" 
queried  Larry. 

"Of  course  not,"  answered  Tom,  who  had 
scrambled  up.  "This  is  the  work  of  some 
enemy." 

"Look  out!  The  snake  is  getting  busy!" 
screamed  Sam,  and  he  was  right;  the  reptile  had 
left  the  shelter  of  the  bed  and  was  darting  across 
the  room,  in  the  direction  of  Songbird. 

The  would-be  poet  did  not  stop  to  argue  with 
his  snakeship,  but  letting  out  a  wild  yell  leaped 
to  the  top  of  a  small  stand  which  stood  in  a  cor 
ner.  The  stand  was  frail  and  down  it  went  with 
a  crash,  the  wreckage  catching  the  snake  on  the 
tail.  It  whipped  around  and  made  a  lunge  at 
Songbird's  foot,  but  the  youth  was  too  nimble 
and  leaped  on  the  bed. 

"We've  got  to  kill  that  snake,"  observed  Dick, 
after  the  reptile  had  disappeared  for  a  moment 
under  a  washstand.  "If  we  don't " 

Crash !  It  was  a  plate  which  Sam  shied  at  the 
snake,  as  its  head  showed  for  a  moment.  Then 
down  went  a  shower  of  shoes,  brushes,  plates, 
and  a  cake  of  soap.  But  the  snake  was  not  seri 
ously  hurt.  It  hissed  viciously  and  darted  from 
one  side  of  the  dormitory  to  the  other,  and  made 
all  the  boys  climb  up  on  the  furniture. 


126  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"This  racket  will  wake  up  everybody  in  the 
school,"  said  Dick,  and  he  was  right.  The  boys 
had  hardly  time  to  get  the  most  of  the  evidence 
of  the  feast  out  of  the  way  when  they  heard  a 
knock  on  the  door. 

"Look  out  there!"  yelled  Tom.  "Don't  open 
that  door  if  you  value  your  life!" 

"What's  the  matter  ?"  came  in  George  Strong's 
voke. 

"A  snake!"  answered  Dick,  and  then  went  on 
in  a  whisper:  "Quick,  boys,  get  the  rest  of  the 
stuff  out  of  the  way!" 

His  chums  understood,  and  the  remains  of  the 
feast  were  swept  under  bed  covers  in  a  jiffy. 

"Did  you  say  there  was  a  snake  in  there?" 
demanded  the  teacher. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Sam.  "He's  right  close  to  the 
door  now."  And  what  he  said  was  true. 

Thinking  the  youngest  Rover  might  be  fool 
ing,  the  first  assistant  teacher  opened  the  door 
cautiously  and  peered  into  the  dormitory.  Then 
he,  too,  let  out  a  cry  of  alarm,  for  the  snake 
darted  forward  and  made  as  if  to  bite  him  in  the 
(foot.  Not  to  be  caught  he  fell  back,  leaving  the 
door  open  about  a  foot.  Through  this  opening 
the  snake  glided  and  disappeared  in  the  semi- 
dark  hallway. 

By  this  time  Putnam  Hall  was  in  an  uproar* 


THE  HUNT  FOR  A  SNAKE  127 

and  boys  were  pouring  into  the  hallways  de 
manding  to  know  if  there  was  a  fire  or  a  robbery. 
Soon  Captain  Putnam  appeared,  wrapped  in  a 
dressing  robe  and  wearing  slippers. 

"Beware,  all  of  you!"  cried  George  Strong. 
"It's  a  snake  and  it  is  loose  in  this  hallway  some 
where." 

"A  snake!"  ejaculated  the  master  of  Putnam 
Hall.  "Where  did  it  come  from  ?" 

"It  was  in  the  dormitory  over  there.  I  heard 
a  noise  and  went  to  see  what  was  the  matter  and 
the  snake  came  out  of  the  room  and  made  off 
in  that  direction,"  and  George  Strong  pointed 
with  his  hand. 

"Humph!"  muttered  Captain  Putnam.  "This 
must  be  looked  into.  What  kind  of  a  snake  was 
it?" 

"I  don't  know,  sir,  but  it  was  fully  three  feet 
long,  and  it  hissed  loudly  as  it  went  past  me." 

"Some  more  of  the  boys'  tricks,  I  suppose. 
But  this  is  going  too  far,  especially  if  the  reptile 
is  poisonous." 

Lights  were  lit  and  turned  up  as  high  as  possi 
ble,  and  a  search  of  all  the  hallways  followed./ 
When  the  cadets  learned  that  a  snake  was  really 
at  large  in  the  school  many  of  the  timid  ones 
were  badly  frightened. 

"He  might  poison  a  fellow  and  kill  him,"  said 
one  lad. 


128  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"Oh,  I  can't  bear  snakes,"  said  another.  "If 
he  came  for  me  I'd  have  a  fit  sure." 

The  search  for  the  snake  was  kept  up  the  best 
part  of  an  hour,  but  without  success.  Peleg 
Snuggers  was  forced  to  join  in  the  hunt  and 
nearly  collapsed  when  he  saw  something  under 
a  stand  in  a  far  corner. 

"The  snake !  The  snake !"  he  yelled  and  started 
to  run  away.  But  what  he  had  seen  proved  to  be 
nothing  but  a  piece  of  old  window  cord,  and  the 
general  utility  man  was  laughed  at  so  heartily  he 
was  glad  to  sneak  out  of  sight. 

"He  must  have  gone  downstairs,"  said  Dick, 
and  then  a  hunt  was  made  below.  Here  some 
windows  had  been  left  open  for  ventilation,  and 
Captain  Putnam  said  it  was  possible  the  reptile 
had  made  its  escape  in  that  manner.  He  did  not 
quite  believe  this,  but  he  thought  the  snake  must 
be  harmless,  and  he  wanted  to  say  something  to 
quiet  those  pupils  who  were  timid. 

"How  did  the  snake  get  in  your  room?"  he 
asked  later  on  of  the  Rovers  and  their  dormitory 
x  fellows. 

"It  came  in  this  box,"  answered  Dick,  and 
brought  forth  the  pasteboard  box  in  question. 
v  "Somebody  knocked  on  the  door  and  when  we 
opened  it  the  box  was  on  the  floor." 

Captain  Putnam  looked  at  the  box  and  the  in 
scription. 


THE  HUNT  FOR  A  SNAKE  129 

"Your  lady  friends  must  have  peculiar  tastes," 
he  said,  smiling. 

"Of  course  that  was  a  trick — just  to  get  us  to 
take  the  box  and  open  it,"  answered  Tom. 

"Do  you  suspect  anybody,  Thomas?" 

"Well — not  exactly,"  said  the  fun-loving 
Rover,  slowly. 

"What  have  you  to  say,  Samuel?" 

"I'm  sure  I  can't  imagine  who  could  send  that 
box." 

"Richard,  what  can  you  tell  of  this?" 

Dick  paused  and  took  a  long  breath. 

"I  can't  tell  you  anything,  just  now,  Captain 
Putnam,"  he  answered  slowly.  "But  I've  'got 
something  of  an  idea  of  how  that  box  got  here. 
But  I'd  hate  to  accuse  anybody  unless  I  was  sure 
of  it." 

"Mr.  Strong  said  the  snake  was  at  least  three 
feet  long." 

"It  was  certainly  all  of  that." 

"Was  it  a  poisonous  snake,  do  you  think  ?" 

"It  was  not  a  rattlesnake,  nor  was  it  any  kind 
f>f  a  snake  such  as  are  usually  found  in  this  part 
>df  our  country,  of  that  I  am  sure." 

"You  got  a  good  look  at  it  then?" 

"Yes." 

"I  certainly  had  no  idea  snakes  of  such  size 
could  be  found  close  to  the  school." 

"I  am  pretty  sure  that  snake  was  never  found 


130  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

around  here.  During  my  travels  I  have  studied 
snakes  a  little,  and  that  variety  was  a  stranger  to 
me." 

"I  see."  The  master  of  Putnam  Hall  mused 
for  a  moment.  "Well,  it  is  very  queer.  But,  as 
the  snake  has  disappeared,  I  think  we  may  as  well 
retire  once  more.  I  do  not  imagine  we  have 
anything  to  fear." 

It  was  a  good  hour  before  the  school  was  quiet 
Many  of  the  boys  were  afraid  to  go  to  bed,  and 
the  teachers  could  not  blame  them.  The  Rovers 
and  their  chums  got  together  to  discuss  the  situ 
ation  in  whispers  and  at  the  same  time  remove 
all  traces  of  the  feast  which  had  been  so  curi 
ously  interrupted. 

"Dick,  what  do  you  make  of  this?"  asked  Tom. 

"I  think  Tad  Sobber  is  guilty,  Tom— but  I 
didn't  want  to  tell  Captain  Putnam  so." 

"You  think  he  got  the  snake  out  of  that 
museum?" 

"I  do." 

"I  think  that  myself,"  put  in  Sam.  "Don't  you 
remember  how  he  was  talking  to  that  barker,  just 
as  if  they  were  friends?  It  was  surely  Sobber 
who  played  that  trick." 

"If  it  was  Sobber  we  ought  to  pay  him  back," 
came  from  Songbird,  'grimly.  "A  snake!  Ugh, 
it  makes  me  creep  to  think  of  it." 

"Don't  you  want  to  compose  an  ode  in  its 


THE  HUNT  FOR  A  SNAKE  131 

honor?"  questioned  Tom,  dryly.     Might  go  like 
this: 

"A  hissing,  gliding  snake 
Kept  all  the  school  awake; 
Each  boy  in  awful  fright 
Was  looking  for  a  bite  ;  * 

"You  can  make  fun  if  you  want  to,  but  I  think 
it  is  no  laughing  matter,"  observed  Fred.  "Sup 
posing  a  fellow  goes  to  sleep  and  wakes  up  to  find 
that  snake  crawling  over  him !  Phew !  talk  about 
nightmares!" 

"It  certainly  would  make  a  fellow  feel  queer," 
answered  Sam.  "But  I  say,  Dick,  if  you  are  sure 
Sobber  did  it,  why  can't  we  pay  him  back  in  his 
own  coin?" 

"I'm  willing,  but  how  can  it  be  done?" 

"Wait  until  to-morrow  night  and  I'll  show 
you,"  answered  the  youngest  Rover.  "That  is, 
unless  the  snake  is  caught  in  the  meantime." 

"Have  you  a  plan  to  get  square  ?"  asked  Larry. 

"Yes." 

"Den  go  ahead  sure,"  came  from  Hans.  "Of 
dot  Sobber  fellow  peen  guilty  he  ought  to  be 
hung  up  on  der  pottom  of  der  sea  alretty  quick!" 

"Just  wait,  and  we'll  fix  Mr.  Tad  Sobber," 
answered  Dick.  "He'll  wish  he  never  saw  a 
snake."  He  had  an  inkling  of  what  was  in  his 
brother  Sam's  mind  to  do. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

A  STIRRING  SCENE  IN  THE  SCHOOLROOM 

THE  hunt  for  the  snake  was  continued  all  of 
the  next  day,  but  without  success.  By  that  time 
the  excitement  had  died  down  and  a  good  many 
of  the  cadets  forgot  all  about  the  incident.  A  few 
said  it  must  be  a  joke  and  they  laughed  behind 
George  Strong's  back. 

"It's  one  of  Tom  Rover's  tricks,"  said  one 
pupil.  "I'll  wager  he  is  laughing  in  his  sleeves 
at  Mr.  Strong  and  Captain  Putnam." 

"Do  you  think  it  was  a  live  snake?"  asked  an 
other. 

"No,  it  was  probably  a  toy  affair  on  a  string.** 

In  the  secrecy  of  their  room  Tad  Sobber  and 
Nick  Pell  laughed  heartily  over  the  excitement 
created — that  is,  Pell  laughed  and  the  buHy 
laughed  with  him.  But  Sobber,  behind  it  all,  was 
worried. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was,  he  had  hoped 
that  the  snake  would  be  killed.  The  man  who 
had  sold  him  the  reptile  had  said  it  was  from 
Central  America  and  poisonous,  but  had  added 
that  the  snake  was  sick  and  not  liable  to  do  any 
harm.  Sobber  would  not  have  cared  had  Dick 

132 


STIRRING  SCENE  IN  SCHOOLROOM 


133 


or  his  brothers  been  bitten  by  the  snake,  but  that 
the  reptile  was  at  large  was  another  story. 

"Do  you  think  he'd  be  poisonous  enough  to 
kill  anybody?"  asked  Pell,  suddenly,  and  he  so 
bered  down  as  he  spoke. 

"Oh,  no,  of  course  not,"  answered  the  bully, 
but  he  turned  his  face  away  as  he  spoke.  He 
had  given  five  dollars  for  the  snake  and  now  he 
was  willing  to  give  a  like  sum  to  make  certain  of 
its  death. 

In  the  afternoon  Sam  led  the  way  to  a  little 
case  of  reptiles  which  hung  on  the  wall  of  the 
school  laboratory.  In  this  was  a  stuffed  snake 
almost  the  size  of  that  which  had  disappeared. 

"I  guess  we  can  frighten  Sobber  and  Pell  with 
that,"  he  said  to  his  brothers. 

"Anyway,  we  can  try,"  answered  Tom,  falling 
in  with  the  plan  at  once. 

"We  want  to  be  careful  of  what  we  do,"  added 
Dick.  "Otherwise,  the  pair  will  smell  a  mouse." 

They  talked  the  matter  over,  and  managed  to 
•  get  the  snake  upstairs  without  anybody  seeing 
them.  Then  they  paid  a  visit  to  the  dormitory 
occupied  by  the  bully  and  his  cronies  and  passed 
some  strong  black  threads  across  the  floor  and 
elsewhere.  After  that  they  told  Songbird  and 
their  other  chums  of  what  had  been  done. 

That  night  Sobber,  Pell  and  their  friends  went 
to  bed  as  usual.  But  hardly  had  they  turned  out 


I34  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

the  lights  when  they  heard  a  curious  rustling 
sound  on  the  floor  near  the  door. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Pell,  who  was  inclined 
to  be  nervous. 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,"  answered  Sobber. 

The  rustling  continued,  and  something  seemed 
to  move  across  the  floor.  Wondering  what  it 
could  be,  the  bully  got  up  and  lit  a  light.  Then 
he  gave  a  yell  and  leaped  back. 

"The  snake!" 

"Where  is  it?"  screamed  Pell,  sitting  bold  up 
right  and  his  hair  raising  on  ends. 

"There  it  is,  over  in  the  corner." 

"The  snake !  The  snake !"  called  out  the  other 
boys  in  the  room,  and  some  were  so  scared  that 
they  dove  under  the  bed  clothing. 

The  light  was  not  strong  enough  to  see  clearly, 
and  nobody  had  the  courage  to  make  more  of  an 
illumination.  Sobber  stood  in  the  center  of  the 
room  and  as  he  did  this  the  snake  suddenly 
seemed  to  fly  through  the  air  right  at  him. 

"Oh!"  he  screamed.  "Go  away!"  and  he 
flopped  on  his  bed  and  threw  a  blanket  over  him. 
He  felt  the  reptile  cross  the  bed  and  lay  there 
quaking  in  mortal  terror.  Then  he  heard  some 
thing  moving  across  the  floor. 

"That  snake  is  bound  to  bite  me !"  he  muttered 
to  himself.  "Oh,  why  did  I  bring  it  to  the 
school!" 


STIRRING  SCENE  IN  SCHOOLROOM 


135 


"Call  Captain  Putnam,  somebody!"  came  from 
Nick  Pell.  He  was  so  frightened  he  could 
scarcely  speak. 

There  was  an  emergency  bell  near  the  door,  to 
be  used  in  case  of  fire,  and  this  one  of  the  boys 
touched.  At  once  the  alarm  sounded  out,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  hallways  were  filled  with 
pupils  as  on  the  previous  night,  while  some  of 
the  teachers  and  Peleg  Snuggers  appeared  with 
chemical  fire  extinguishers  in  their  hands. 

"Where  is  the  fire?" 

"Shall  I  telephone  for  the  Cedarville  fire  de 
partment  ?" 

"Has  anybody  been  burnt?" 

"What  room  is  it  in?" 

Such  were  some  of  the  questions  asked.  Then 
Captain  Putnam  rushed  on  the  scene. 

"It's  the  snake  again!"  wailed  one  of  the  ca 
dets,  who  now  stood  bolt  upright  on  his  bed,  his 
eyes  bulging  from  his  head. 

"Are  you  sure?" 

"Yes,  the  snake  is  in  here,"  answered  Tad 
Sobber.  "Why,  it  fairly  jumped  over  my  bed!" 

"He  tried  to  bite  me  in  the  face!"  came  from 
Nick  Pell,  who  was  so  excited  he  scarcely  knew 
what  he  was  saying. 

More  lights  were  lit,  and  Captain  Putnam  went 
off  to  get  a  shotgun. 


136  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"If  I  catch  sight  of  it,  I'll  blow  it  to  pieces," 
he  said  to  George  Strong. 

A  long  search  followed,  and  then  came  a  sud* 
den  cry  from  a  corner  of  the  dormitory. 
.   "There  he  is!" 

"Shoot  him,  Captain  Putnam!" 

The  master  of  the  Hall  took  aim  and  came  up" 
slowly.     Then  he  suddenly  dropped  the  barrel  of 
his  shotgun,  stepped  forward,  and  took  hold  of 
the  snake  by  the  tail. 

"It's  a  stuffed  snake,"  he  said.  "It  belongs  in 
the  case  in  the  laboratory." 

"A  stuffed  snake?"  queried  Tad  Sodder,  and 
when  he  realized  the  truth  he  was  the  maddest 
boy  in  that  school. 

"See  here,"  said  the  master  of  the  Hall,  turning 
to  Dick.  "Was  this  what  you  saw  last  night  ?" 

"No,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "What  we 
saw  was  a  real,  live  snake." 

"Indeed  it  was,"  said  George  Strong. 

"Are  you  sure  this  one  is  from  the  case  in  the 
laboratory,  Captain  Putnam?"  questioned  An 
drew  Garmore,  one  of  the  teachers. 

"Yes,  I  know  it  well.  Besides,  here  is  the  label 
on  it." 

"Well,  I  looked  at  the  case  early  this  morning 
and  it  was  filled  as  it  has  always  been." 

"It's  a  trick  on  me!"  roared  Tad  Sobber, 
angrily.  "Just  wait,  I'll  get  square  with  some- 


STIRRING  SCENE  IN  SCHOOLROOM        137 

body  for  this!"     And  he  looked  sharply  at  the 
Rovers. 

"Sobber  must  like  snakes — I  saw  him  at  the 
museum  in  Cedarville  one  day,"  answered  Dick, 
and  eyed  the  bully  boldly.  At  this  Sobber  grew 
red  in  the  face  and  slunk  out  of  sight. 

"Get  to  bed,  all  of  you,"  said  Captain  Putnam' 
sharply.  "I'll  investigate  this  in  the  morning." 

As  on  the  night  before,  it  took  the  school  a 
long  time  to  quiet  down.  The  Rover  boys  and 
their  chums  had  a  hearty  laugh  over  the  success 
of  the  trick. 

"My!  but  Sobber  is  mad,"  said  Fred.  "You 
want  to  watch  out,  he'll  do  almost  anything  to 
get  square." 

The  promised  investigation  the  next  day  did 
not  materialize,  for  the  reason  that  Captain  Put 
nam  was  called  away  on  important  business.  Thus 
two  days  passed,  and  the  snake  incident  was 
again  practically  forgotten  by  the  majority  of 
the  students. 

On  the  following  day  the  master  of  the  Hall 
came  back  and  said  he  would  start  his  investiga 
tion  that  afternoon  after  the  school  session. 

"And  let  me  tell  you  one  thing,"  he  announced. 
"Whoever  brought  that  real  snake  into  this  acad 
emy  will  have  to  suffer  for  it." 

That  afternoon  in  one  of  the  classrooms  some 
of  the  pupils  were  reciting  history  when  of  a 


138  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

sudden  a  wild  shriek  rang  through  the  air  and 
Nick  Pell  was  seen  to  bounce  up  out  of  his  seat 
and  run  away  from  his  desk  as  if  a  demon  was 
after  him. 

"What  is  it,  Pell?"  demanded  the  teacher. 

"The— the  snake !"  groaned  Nick.  "Oh,  I'm  a 
dead  boy!" 

"Where  is  it?"  asked  a  score  of  voices. 

"In  my  desk !  It  just  bit  me  in  the  hand !  Oh, 
I'm  a  dead  boy,  I  know  I  am!"  And  Nick  Pell 
shook  from  head  to  foot  in  his  terror. 

The  announcement  that  the  snake  was  in 
Nick's  desk  was  received  in  various  ways  by  the 
boys  present.  Some  thought  it  must  be  the  real 
snake  and  others  thought  it  might  be  only  a  trick. 
With  caution  the  teacher  approached  the  desk, 
armed  with  a  ruler.  Then  came  a  hissing  sound 
and  the  snake  stuck  out  its  head. 

"It's  alive!"  yelled  a  dozen  cadets. 

"Kill  it!     Kill  it!" 

"You  go  and  kill  it!" 

"I  haven't  anything." 

"Neither  have  I." 

"Throw  a  book  at  it,"  suggested  Tom,  and  let 
'riy  his  Caesar.  His  aim  was  good  and  the  snake 
was  hit  in  the  neck  and  tumbled  to  the  floor. 
Then  the  boys  threw  books,  rulers  and  inkwells 
at  the  reptile,  and  it  was  driven  into  a  corner. 
Dick  took  op  a  big  geography,  let  it  fall  on  top 


STIRRING  SCENE  IN  SCHOOLROOM 


139 


of  the  snake,  and  stood  on  it  The  reptile 
squirmed,  but  could  not  get  away,  and  in  a  few 
seconds  more  it  was  killed. 

"That's  the  end  of  that  snake, **  said  Sam, 
breathing  a  sigh  of  relief.  "And  I  am  mighty 
glad  of  it." 

"I  am  poisoned!  I  am  poisoned!"  screamed 
Nick  Pell.  "See,  my  hand  is  swelling  up  al 
ready!" 

"Do  you  think  he  was  really  bitten?"  whis 
pered  Tom. 

"It  looks  like  it,"  answered  Dick.  "Too  bad 
— if  the  snake  really  was  poisonous." 

By  this  time  Captain  Putnam  had  come  in.  He 
glanced  at  the  dead  snake  and  gave  a  start. 

"Did  that  thing  brte  you,  Pell  ?"  he  questioned. 

"Yes,  sir,  right  here — in — the — the  palm  of 
the  hand,"  cried  the  youth  addressed.  "See  how 
it  is  swelling." 

"I'll  telephone  for  a  doctor  at  once.  Come  to 
my  office  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for  you." 

Nick  had  certainly  been  bitten  and  now  the 
hand  was  twice  its  ordinary  size,  while  the  pain 
wa»  acute.  The  boy  shook  like  a  leaf. 

"I'm  poisoned,  I  know  I  am !"  he  wailed.  "It's 
all  Tad  Sobber's  fault,  too !  Oh,  if  I  should  die !" 
And  then  of  a  sudden  he  fell  to  the  floor  ir> 
yulsions. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

IN    WHICH    TAD    SOBBER    DISAPPEARS 

/ 

ALL,  standing  near  Nick  Pell  were  amazed  to 
see  the  boy  fall  to  the  floor.  Captain  Putnam 
and  Dick  Rover  raised  him  up.  His  eyes  were 
rolling  frightfully  and  his  jaws  opened  and  shut 
with  a  snap  that  was  sickening. 

"Something  is  certainly  wrong  with  him," 
whispered  Sam  to  Tom. 

"Yes,  he  wouldn't  act  that  way  if  he  was  sim 
ply  frightened,"  was  the  reply.  "And  see  his 
hand!" 

"We  will  carry  him  up  to  one  of  the  spare  bed 
rooms,"  said  Captain  Putnam.  "And,  Mr. 
Strong,  see  to  it  that  we  get  a  doctor  here  as  soon 
as  possible.  Tell  him  it  is  a  case  of  snake  poison 
ing,  and  ask  him  over  the  telephone  what  we  had 
£est  do." 

Nick  Pell  was  carried  upstairs.  By  this  time 
he  had  ceased  to  move  and  lay  like  a  lag  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  supported  him. 

Many  had  heard  him  mention  Tad  Sobber  and 
all  looked  at  the  bully  inquiringly.  Sobber  was 
deadly  pale,  but  managed  to  keep  up  a  bold  front 

140 


IN  WHICH  TAD  SOBBER  DISAPPEARS     141 

T  am  not  to  blame,"  he  said,  in  answer  to  a 
question  from  one  of  the  teachers.  "I  didn't  put 
the  snake  in  Pell's  desk." 

"Did  you  bring  the  snake  into  the  school  ?" 

"Certainly  not,"  answered  the  bully  shame 
lessly.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  keep  out  of  "hot 
water"  even  if  it  was  necessary  to  lie  to  do  it.  ' 

A  hurry  call  was  sent  to  Doctor  Fremley  of 
Cedarville  and  he  came  as  quickly  as  his  mare 
could  bring  him.  Only  the  teachers  and  the 
physician  were  allowed  in  the  bedroom  with  Pell, 
so  the  cadets  did  not  know  what  took  place. 

"It's  as  plain  as  day,"  said  Dick  to  his  brother 
-and  his  chums.     "Sobber  got  the  snake  and  put 
it  in  the  box.     That  is  why  Pell  said  he  was  to 
blame." 

"But  Sobber  told  a  teacher  he  did  not  bring 
the  snake  into  the  Hall,"  answered  Songbird. 

"I  do  not  believe  him,"  came  from  Tom. 

"Nor  do  I,"  added  Sam.  "He's  a  bad  egg,  if 
ever  there  was  one." 

The  poisoning  of  Nick  Pell  cast  a  damper  over 
the  whole  school,  and  neither  the  teachers  nor 
the  pupils  could  settle  down  to  lessons.  The  doc 
tor  remained  with  the  sufferer  for  two  hours,  and 
when  he  went  away  he  looked  very  grave. 

"He  is  by  no  means  out  of  danger,"  an 
nounced  the  physician.  "But  let  us  hope  for  the 
best.  I  think  his  parents  ought  to  be  notified." 


142  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

This  was  done,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pell  came 
on  the  very  next  day  to  see  their  son.  They 
found  him  in  something  of  a  fever  and  out  of  his 
mind,  crying  continually  for  Sobber  to  take  the 
snake  away. 

"Richard,  I  want  to  see  you,"  said  Captain 
Putnam  that  evening,  and  led  Dick  to  his  private 
office.  There  he  demanded  to  know  what  the 
eldest  Rover  knew  of  the  snake  incident. 

"Captain  Putnam,  I  will  tell  you  everything 
from  beginning  to  end,"  answered  Dick.  "If  I 
am  to  suffer  I'll  take  my  punishment,  and  Torn 
and  Sam  say  they  stand  ready  to  do  the  same." 
And  thereupon  Dick  related  the  particulars  of  the 
trouble  with  the  bully  and  Pell,  and  of  how  he 
and  his  brothers  and  Songbird  and  Hans  had 
seen  Sobber  and  Pell  at  the  museum  where  the 
snakes  had  been.  Then  he  told  of  the  feast,  and 
how  the  snake  had  been  discovered  in  the  box. 

"I  have  kept  the  box,"  he  added,  "and  you  can 
look  at  the  writing  if  you  wish.  I  think  it  is  in 
Tad  Sobber's  hand,  although  somewhat  dis 
guised." 

The  address  on  the  box  was  investigated  by 
the  master  of  the  Hall,  who  sent  for  several  com 
positions  Tad  Sobber  had  written.  The  bully 
was  much  disturbed  when  he  had  to  give  up  the 
compositions  to  George  Strong. 


IN  WHICH  TAD  SOBBER  DISAPPEARS     143 

"What's  that  for?"  he  asked,  with  a  scowl  on 
his  face. 

"Captain  Putnam  wants  them,"  answered  the 
teacher,  and  would  say  no  more. 

With  anxious  eyes  the  bully  watched  the  first 
assistant  disappear  into  the  office  with  the  com 
positions.  Then,  looking  to  make  sure  that  he- 
was  not  observed,  he  stole  up  to  the  door  and 
applied  his  ear  to  the  keyhole.  What  he  heard 
filled  him  with  increased  alarm, 

"It  is  Sobber's  handwriting  beyond  a  doubt,"" 
said  Captain  Putnam,  after  comparing  the  com 
positions  with  the  address  on  the  box  cover.  "I 
wonder  if  he  knew  that  the  snake  was  a  poisonous 
one?" 

"Perhaps  Nick  Pell  can  tell  that — after  he  gets 
over  his  trouble,"  returned  Dick. 

"Provided  he  does  get  over  it,  Richard." 

"Don't  you  think  he'll  recover?"  cried  Dick, 
in  consternation, 

"He  may  not.  It  is  a  very  serious  case,  so 
Doctor  Fremley  informs  me." 

"What  does  Mr.  Pell  say  about  it?" 

"He  wants  me  to  investigate.  He  says  he  may 
have  somebody  arrested  for  this — and  I  can 
hardly  blame  him.  It  was  a  vile  thing  to  do — 
bring  a  poisonous  snake  into  the  school." 

At  the  mention  of  arrest  Tad  Sobber  shut  his 
teeth  hard. 


144  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE   FARM 

"I  guess  it's  about  time  I  made  myself  scarce," 
he  muttered.  "Perhaps  I  had  better  leave  and 
join  Uncle  Sid."  And  he  walked  away  silently 
and  up  to  his  room.  He  remained  there  about 
ten  minutes,  then  stole  forth  and  down  a  back 
way,  a  fair-sized  bundle  under  his  arm. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  interview  in  the  office 
Captain  Putnam  sent  for  Tad  Sobber.  One  of 
the  monitors  went  on  the  errand  and  came  back 
in  quarter  of  an  hour  with  the  information  that 
the  youth  could  not  be  found. 

"Did  he  have  permission  to  leave  the 
grounds?"  asked  the  captain  of  the  teachers. 

"Not  from  me,"  said  one  instructor  after  an 
other. 

Then  Peleg  Snuggers  was  sent  out  to  hunt  the 
bully  up  and  soon  came  back  with  the  informa 
tion  that  Sobber  was  not  around  the  grounds, 
but  had  been  seen  by  two  of  the  cadets  walking 
in  the  direction  of  Cedarville.  Sobber  had  given 
one  of  the  cadets  a  note  for  the  master  of  the 
Hall.  This  ran  as  follows : 

"Must  go  to  the  village  on  a  matter  of  great 
importance.  Will  explain  when  I  return. — 
T.  Sobber." 

"Maybe  he  has  gone  to  find  out  about  that 
snake,"  suggested  Tom. 


IN  WHICH  TAD  SOBBER  DISAPPEARS 

"How  could  he?"  came  from  his  younger 
brother.  "The  museum  keeper  has  moved 
away." 

"Tad  may  know  where  he  moved  to,"  put  iu 
Larry. 

A  whole  day  passed  and  the  bully  did  not  show 
himself.  Then  Captain  Putnam  drove  over  to 
the  village  and  attempted  to  hunt  him  up,  but 
without  success.  He  learned  that  the  museum 
man  had  shipped  his  outfit  to  Boston. 

"He  has  run  away,"  said  the  master  of  the 
Hall  to  Mr.  Pell  and  George  Strong.  "I  am 
satisfied  now  that  he  was  guilty.  But  as  Nick 
knew  of  it,  he  must  have  had  something  to  do 
with  it,"  he  added. 

"I  trust  my  son  recovers,"  answered  Mr.  Pellr 
with  a  deep  sigh.  But  the  days  went  by  and  Nick 
Pell  still  remained  in  bad  shape,  very  weak  and 
out  of  his  mind  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time, 
During  his  lucid  intervals  he  told  how  Sobber 
had  purchased  the  snake  for  five  dollars,  the 
owner  saying  it  was  sick  and  liable  to  die  in  the 
near  future.  He  added  that  the  bully  had  said 
he  hoped  the  snake  would  bite  one  of  the  Rovers. 

"I  didn't  want  him  to  use  the  snake,"  said  the 
sufferer,"  but  he  insisted,  and  told  me  to  keeo 
my  mouth  shut  about  it."  After  that  poor  Nick 
began  to  rave  again  and  had  to  be  given  some 
medicine  to  keep  him  quiet.  During  one  of  his 


146  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

good  spells  he  was  removed  to  a  house  located 
about  half  a  mile  from  Putnam  Hall,  where  he 
could  get  the  benefit  of  absolute  quietness.  His 
father  went  back  to  business,  but  his  mother  re 
mained  behind  to  nurse  her  boy. 

The  Thaaksgiving  holidays  were  now  at  hand, 
but  the  Rover  boys  decided  to  remain  at  the  Hall 
and  not  go  home  until  Christmas.  Besides,  they 
were  preparing  for  the  party  at  the  Stanhope  cot 
tage,  which  was  to  come  off  on  the  following 
Wednesday  erening.  They  had  seen  Dora, 
Nellie  and  Grace  several  times,  and  all  had  pre 
pared  for  "the  best  time  ever,"  as  the  girls  put 
it.  Captain  Putnam  gave  the  boys  permission  to 
take  the  carryall  and  allowed  them  to  leave  the 
school  on  the  day  of  the  party  at  six  o'clock. 

"Whoop!  here  we  go!"  cried  Tom,  as  he  took 
the  whip  and  cracked  it  loudly.  "Hold  on, 
everybody!  Pel  eg,  don't  let  the  team  lag,"  fee 
went  on,  to  the  driver. 

"An'  don't  you  go  for  to  make  'em  run  away, 
Master  Tom,"  answered  the  driver,  grimly. 

"It's  a  pretty  long  drive  and  we  don't  want  to 
be  late,"  said  Dick.  "So  push  ahead  as  fast  as 
you  can." 

"Say,  Tubby,  where's  your  stovepipe  ha*?" 
asked  Sam  of  the  dude  cadet,  who  formed  one 
of  the  party. 

"I — ah — thought  it  would  not  be — ah — quite 


A  MAN  WAS  OUTSIDE  PEERING  IN  AT  THE  PARTY. — Page  IJI. 
The  Rover  Boys  on  the  Farm. 


IN  WHICH  TAD  SOBBER  DISAPPEARS 


147 


appropriate,"  lisped  William  Philander.  "Not — 
ah — being  full  dress,  you  know." 

"He  was  afraid  of  having  it  mashed,"  said 
Fred.  "Hurrah!  We're  off!  Now  for  a  good 
night's  fun!" 

They  were  to  have  a  good  night's  fun — and  a 
nxxt  unusual  adventure  with  it. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY 

IT  was  a  clear,  bright  evening  when  the  boys 
drove  over  to  the  Stanhope  cottage.  All  were  in 
high  spirits  and  sang  and  joked  to  their  hearts' 
content.  For  the  time  being  the  trouble  with 
Tad  Sobber  was  totally  forgotten.  So  far  noth 
ing  more  had  been  heard  of  the  bully,  and  all 
were  satisfied  that  he  had  left  both  Putnam  Hall 
and  Cedarville  and  perhaps  for  good 

"One  boy  told  me  he  used  to  live  with  an  uncle 
in  New  York  City,"  said  Larry.  "He  didn't 
know  the  uncle's  name." 

When  the  carryall  arrived  at  the  Stanhope 
place  they  found  the  cottage  well  lit  up.  Dora 
had  invited  a  number  of  her  girl  friends  and 
these,  with  her  cousins,  Grace  and  Nellie,  were 
already  on  hand.  The  boys  let  out  a  ringing 
cheer  as  they  stopped  at  the  horse-block,  and  the 
girls  came  out  to  greet  them. 

"All  here?"  cried  Dora. 

"All  here,"  was  the  answer. 

"Good!"  cried  several  of  the  girls. 
148 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY 

"I  guess  we  are  a  bit  early,"  observed  Dick, 
"But  we  wanted  to  make  sure  we  wouldn't  be 
late,  and  it's  a  long  drive  over." 

"You  are  not  a  bit  too  early,"  answered  Dora, 
and  gave  him  her  dainty  hand  which  he  squeezed 
ardently. 

Soon  the  boys  were  piling  out  on  the  ground, 
and  a  general  handshaking  followed.  Those  who 
did  not  know  each  other  were  introduced,  and 
everybody  walked  into  the  house,  where  a  room 
upstairs  had  beei"  prepared  for  the  cadets'  recep 
tion. 

"Now,  everyone  must  feel  perfectly  at  home," 
said  Mrs.  Stanhope,  who  was  being  assisted  by 
Mrs.  Laning  and  Mr.  Laning.  The  older  folks 
prepared  the  refreshments  while  the  young  peo 
ple  sat  down  in  the  parlor  and  the  sitting  room. 

At  first,  as  at  all  parties,  there  was  a  little  stiff 
ness,  but  this  was  soon  broken  by  Tom  asking  in 
a  solemn  voice : 

"Say,  did  anybody  bring  an  iceberg  in  his 
pocket?  If  he  did  he  will  please  set  it  on  the 
kitchen  stove  to  thaw  out." 

"Oh,  Tom!"  shrieked  Nellie,  and  all  the  girls 
giggled.  Then  the  "ice  was  broken"  and  every 
body  started  to  talk  at  once.  Even  William 
Philander  was  pleased,  for  he  had  discovered  a 
tall,  willowy  girl  who  exactly  suited  him  and  who 
thought  him  charming. 


150  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

At  first  they  played  half  a  dozen  different 
games  and  gave  out  riddles,  and  Songbird  re 
cited  a  poem  written  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 
The  poem  was  the  best  effort  he  had  yet  made 
in  the  verse  line  and  of  course  everybody  ap 
plauded.  Then  Grace  said  he  ought  to  have  it 
published  in  the  Cedarville  weekly  paper,  and 
this  pleased  the  poet  very  much. 

"Maybe  you  can  get  a  dollar  a  line  for  it,  Song 
bird,"  suggested  Dick. 

"If  he  can  we'll  let  him  divide  up  with  us," 
added  Tom,  and  this  caused  a  laugh. 

Presently  refreshments  were  announced,  and 
the  boys  and  girls  paired  off  and  entered  the  din 
ing  room.  Here  a  long  table  was  spread,  deco 
rated  with  autumn  leaves  and  the  Putnam  Hall 
colors.  There  were  six  colored  candles  on  the 
table,  each  with  an  elaborate  red  shade,  and  the 
general  effect  was  warm  and  pleasing.  There 
were  plenty  of  'good  things  to  eat,  including  ice 
cream  frozen  into  all  sorts  of  forms.  When  the 
forms  were  passed  around,  Dick  got  a  drum 
major,  Tom  an  Uncle  Sam,  and  Sam  an  airship. 
Hans  got  a  fat  Dutch  boy,  which  tickled  him 
immensely. 

"Dot  vos  look  chust  like  some  poys  by  der 
Fadderlandt,"  he  observed. 

With  the  ice-cream  came  snapper  bonbons, 
filled  with  all  sorts  of  things  made  of  paper,  and 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY        151 

soon  one  boy  was  wearing  an  apron,  another  a 
nightcap,  and  the  like.  Dora  got  a  yellow  jacket, 
and  Nellie  a  baker's  cap,  while  Grace  skipped 
around  wearing  a  poke  hat  over  a  foot  high. 
There  was  plenty  of  laughter,  and  the  old  folks 
did  not  hesitate  to  join  in.  Nuts  and  raisins  fol 
lowed  the  ice-cream,  and  then  the  young  folks 
went  back  to  the  sitting  room  and  the  parlor  to 
finish  their  games  and  have  some  music. 

"Dora,  you  must  play  for  us,"  said  Dick,  and 
led  her  to  the  piano.  Then,  while  some  of  the 
others  gathered  around  the  girl  played  "Waiting 
for  the  Wagon,"  "Aunt  Dinah's  Quilting  Party," 
and  a  number  of  other  favorites,  and  these  the 
crowd  sang  lustily. 

"Guess  it  is  about  time  for  us  to  leave,"  whis 
pered  Fred  to  Dick,  presently.  "I  know  you'll 
like  to  have  Dora  play  all  night  for  you,  but  it 
can't  be  done." 

Dick  looked  at  his  watch. 

"Phew!  as  late  as  this!"  he  exclaimed  softly. 
"Yes,  we'll  have  to  -go." 

"Let  us  sing  'Home,  Sweet  Home,'  suggested 
one  of  the  boys,  and  Dora  struck  up  the  opening 
chords.  They  were  in  the  midst  of  the  first  verse 
when  Dick  chanced  to  glance  towards  one  of  the 
windows  and  stopped  short. 

A  man  was  outside  peering  in  at  the  party. 

It  was  Merrick! 


IC2  ROVER   BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"Well,  I  never!"  burst  out  the  eldest  Rover 
boy,  and  his  sudden  exclamation  caused  Dora  to 
look  at  him  curiously  and  stop  playing. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Dick?" 

"Did  you  see  that  man  at  the  window?  He  ;- 
gone  now." 

"I  didn't  see  anybody." 

"Who  was  it?"  asked  Tom,  quickly. 

"It  was  that  rascal  Merrick !" 

"Merrick !"  ejaculated  Sam.  "The  fellow  who 
took  Uncle  Randolph's  bonds?" 

"The  same." 

"Oh,  Dick,  you  must  be  mistaken." 

"I  was  not  mistaken — I  saw  him  as  plain  as 
day.  I  am  going  to  look  for  him,"  added  the 
eldest  Rover,  for  the  man  had  now  disappeared. 

He  ran  for  the  hall  door,  and  the  other  boys 
followed.  The  girls  remained  in  the  parlor,  much 
frightened,  for  it  was  after  midnight. 

As  Dick  reached  the  piazza  he  saw  a  dark  form 
stealing  along  a  row  of  bushes  near  the  garden 
fence. 

"There  he  is!"  he  exclaimed.  "Stop!"  he 
called  out,  loudly.  "Stop,  I  tell  you!" 

"Who  did  you  say  it  was?"  asked  John  Laning, 
as  he  came  from  the  kitchen  with  a  stout  cane  in 
his  hand. 

"That  rascal  Merrick,  one  of  the  two  men  who 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY        153 

stole  my  uncle's  traction  company  bonds,"  ex 
plained  Dick. 

"What  can  he  be  doing  here?" 

"I  don't  know.    There  he  goes,  over  the  fence !" 

"He  is  running  towards  the  side  road!"  ex 
claimed  Sam.  "Come  on  after  him!" 

"Wait  till  we  get  our  hats  and  coats,"  said 
Tom,  and  ran  back  to  pick  up  the  articles  men 
tioned.  This  took  a  couple  of  minutes,  and  by 
the  time  he  came  back  Merrick  was  out  of  sight. 

The  three  Rovers  ran  to  the  side  road,  Fred 
Garrison  and  Mr.  Laning  with  them. 

"I  wish  I  had  a  pistol,"  remarked  John  Laning. 
"No  telling  how  desperate  a  character  that  vil 
lain  may  be." 

"I'd  like  to  know  if  he  came  on  foot  or  with 
a  horse,"  said  Dick. 

"Do  you  think  he  followed  us  to  this  place?" 
asked  Sam. 

"I  am  sure  I  don't  know.  The  whole  thing 
looks  mighty  queer  to  me." 

There  was  no  moon,  but  the  stars  were  shining 
brightly,  so  they  could  see  fairly  well  on  the  road. 
As  they  reached  a  bend  Tom  pointed  forward. 

"There  he  is,  just  going  into  the  bushes !" 

"He  had  better  not  go  that  way,"  was  Mr. 
Laning's  remark,  "unless  he  knows  the  ground 
well." 


154 


ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 


"Why  not?"  asked  Sam. 

"Just  beyond  that  patch  of  timber  is  Nixon's 
Swamp,  as  it  is  called — as  boggy  and  treacherous 
a  spot  as  can  be  found  for  miles  around.  If  he 
don't  look  out  he'll  get  stuck  there  and  never  get 
out" 

1      "Do  you  know  the  swamp?"  asked  Dick,     "I 
mean  the  good  spots  ?" 

"Fairly  well — I  used  to  come  over  here  when 
I  was  a  boy — to  pick  huckleberries.  They  are 
plentiful  on  the  other  side  of  the  swamp." 

"Then  supposing  you  lead  the  way  and  we'll 
follow." 

They  were  soon  in  the  woods  and  saw  a  well- 
defined  path  running  to  the  eastward.  Beyond 
was  Nixon's  Swamp,  and  still  further  on  another 
woods. 

They  were  afraid  they  had  lost  track  of  the 
man  they  were  after  when  they  heard  a  crack 
ahead  of  them,  followed  by  a  short  yell  of  alarm. 
Merrick  had  stumbled  over  a  fallen  log  and 
pitched  headlong  into  some  thorny  bushes.  It 
took  him  some  time  to  extricate  himself,  and 
meanwhile  the  pursuers  drew  closer. 

"I  see  him!"  cried  Tom.  "He  is  turning  to 
the  right!" 

"He  is  headed  for  the  worst  part  of  the 
swamp,"  was  Mr.  Laning's  comment  "If  he 
doesn't  look  out " 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  THE  PARTY        155 

A  minute  later  a  wild  cry  rang  out  from  ahead. 
The  cry  was  repeated  twice,  and  then  all  became 
as  silent  as  the  grave. 

"He  must  have  gone  down  into  the  swamp," 
exclaimed  Dick. 

"Yes,  and  more  than  likely  he  is  drowning  to; 
death,"  added  John  Laning. 


CHAPTER   XX 

DICK  AND  DORA 

THE  boys  were  almost  afraid  to  penetrate 
further  into  the  woods,  for  they  found  the  ground 
growing  wet  and  spongy  under  their  feet.  All 
halted  and  gathered  around  Mr.  Laning. 

"Do  you  think  he  has  really  been  drowned?" 
asked  Sam,  with  a  slight  shiver. 

"It  may  be,"  was  the  farmer's  reply.  "I  know 
of  one  man  who  was  drowned  here  some  years 
ago,  and  every  year  cattle  are  lost  here.  The 
bottom  of  the  swamp  is  very  sticky,  and  once  a 
person  gets  in  he  sinks  down  and  under." 

"What  shall  we  do  ?"  questioned  Tom. 

"We  can  go  ahead,  but  we  want  to  be  mighty 
careful.  Don't  take  a  step  until  you  are  sure  of 
your  footing.  If  you  find  yourself  sinking,  grab 
hold  of  some  tree  or  bush." 

,  Mr.  Laning  led  the  way  and  the  boys  followed, 
until  they  had  covered  a  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty 
feet.  Here  the  ground  was  so  soft  they  had  to 
leap  from  one  tree  root  or  clump  of  bushes  to 

156 


DICK  AND  DORA  257 

another.  As  they  moved  forward  they  listened 
intently  for  some  further  sound  from  Merrick, 
but  none  came. 

"Hullo,  what's  this?"  cried  Dick,  presently, 
and  moved  to  one  side,  close  to  a  pool  of  dark 
and  treacherous-looking  water.  "A  man's  hat!" 

He  picked  it  up  and  turned  it  over.  On  the 
inside  were  the  initials,  S.  A.  M. 

"It  must  be  Merrick's,"  he  went  on.  "Can  he 
have  gone  down  here?" 

The  others  came  at  his  call  and  all  looked  at 
the  hat,  which  had  been  lying  in  the  mud  at  the 
side  of  the  pool.  Then  a  match  was  struck,  and 
all  gazed  around  and  into  the  pool  while  this  faint 
illumination  lasted.  No  other  trace  of  the  miss 
ing  man  was  to  be  seen. 

"Merrick,  where  are  you?"  called  out  Dick. 
"If  you  need  help,  say  so,  and  we'll  try  to  get 
you  out." 

"Do  you  think  he'd  answer  that  call?"  asked 
Fred. 

"I  think  he'd  rather  go  to  prison  than  die  in 
this  swamp,"  was  the  reply. 

The  students  and  Mr.  Laning  moved  cautiously 
around  the  edge  of  the  swamp  for  half  an  hour 
and  then  returned  to  the  roadway.  To  mark 
the  spot  where  the  hat  had  been  found  Dick  hung 
the  head  covering  on  a  tree  limb. 

"We  can  come  back  in  the  daylight  and  make 


158  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

another  search,"  said  he.  "And  we  can  notify 
the  authorities,  too." 

When  they  got  back  to  the  Stanhope  cottage 
they  found  the  others  anxiously  awaiting  their 
return. 

"Did  you  catch  him?" 

"Did  he  hurt  you?" 

"No,  we  didn't  catch  him,  and  nobody  is  hurt," 
answered  Mr.  Laning.  "We  lost  him  in  the 
swamp,  and  there  is  no  telling  where  he  is  now." 

"I  want  to  get  hold  of  him  for  two  reasons — 
that  is,  if  he  is  alive,"  said  Dick.  "I  want  to  get 
back  those  bonds  and  I  want  to  know  what 
brought  him  to  this  cottage." 

"Maybe  he  came  here  to  rob  the  Stanhopes," 
whispered  Tom.  "But  I  shouldn't  tell  them,  for 
it  will  frighten  them  too  much." 

"No,  don't  say  a  word,  Tom.  If  you  do,  Mrs. 
Stanhope  will  be  just  as  nervous  as  she  ever  was." 

"I  and  my  family  are  going  to  stay  here  to 
night,"  announced  Mr.  Laning;  "so  we  can  go 
on  a  hunt  for  that  man  first  thing  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

"And  I'll  drive  over,  if  Captain  Putnam  will 
Jet  me,"  answered  Dick. 

The  appearance  of  Merrick  had  put  a  damper 
on  the  breaking  up  of  the  party,  and  the  Rovers 
were  rather  silent  as  they  went  back  to  the  school. 
It  was  too  late  to  speak  to  Captain  Putnam  that 


DICK  AND  DORA 


159 


night,  but  Dick  was  up  early  and  saw  the  master 
of  the  Hall  before  breakfast. 

"I  trust  you  had  a  good  time  last  night,"  said 
Captain  Putnam,  smiling. 

"We  did  have,  sir,"  said  Dick.  "But  our  party 
broke  up  in  a  way  we  didn't  anticipate,"  and  then 
he  told  of  what  had  occurred. 

The  captain  had  heard  of  the  missing  traction 
company  bonds,  and  he  readily  allowed  Dick  to 
go  back  to  the  cottage,  using  a  horse  and  buggy 
for  that  purpose.  Sam  and  Tom  wanted  to  go, 
too,  but  to  this  Captain  Putnam  demurred. 

"I  think  one  is  enough,  especially  as  Mr.  Lan- 
ing  is  there,  too,"  he  said. 

With  a  good  horse  and  a  light  buggy,  it  did  not 
take  long  for  the  eldest  Rover  boy  to  reach  the 
Stanhope  cottage.  The  family  had  just  had 
breakfast  and  were  surprised  to  see  him  so  early. 

"Didn't  you  have  anything  to  eat?"  questioned 
Dora.  "If  you  didn't,  come  right  in,  and  I'll 
make  you  an  omelet  and  some  coffee." 

"No,  thank  you,  Dora,"  he  whispered.  "I'll 
have  to  wait  for  that  until  we're  keeping  house 
together.  Then " 

"Oh,  Dick!"  she  cried  and  blushed  like  a  rose. 

"I  had  breakfast  while  driving  over, — an 
orange  and  some  sandwiches,"  went  on  the 
youth.  "Mrs.  Green  got  them  ready  for  me.  Is 
there  anything  new?" 


160  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"No.  Uncle  John  is  waiting  for  you.  He  is 
in  the  woodshed,  trying  on  some  old  rubber  boots. 
He  says  one  ought  to  have  rubber  boots  to  go 
into  the  swamp  with." 

Dick  hurried  to  the  woodshed  and  there  found 
that  Mr.  Laning  had  unearthed  two  pairs  of 
boots,  and  he  donned  one  pair  while  the  farmer 
put  on  the  other.  A  little  later  both  got  in  the 
buggy  and  drove  up  the  road  they  had  traveled 
the  night  previous.  Then  they  tied  the  horse  to 
a  tree,  and  followed  the  path  leading  to  the  edge 
of  the  swamp. 

"Hullo,  the  hat  is  gone!"  exclaimed  Dick,  as 
he  came  close  to  the  black  pool. 

"Maybe  it  dropped  to  the  ground,"  suggested 
John  Laning. 

Both  looked  around,  but  could  see  nothing  of 
the  missing  head  covering.  Then  Dick  caught 
sight  of  a  slip  of  paper  pinned  to  the  tree. 

"Here  is  a  message  of  some  kind,"  he  said, 
end  read  it.  The  message  ran  as  follows : 

"I  reckon  I  fooled  you  this  trip.  I  was  up  in 
the  tree  all  the  time.  By  the  time  you  get  this  I 
shall  be  miles  away.  Ta  ta  until  the  next  time." 

"Humph!"  muttered  Dick.  "What  do  you 
think  of  that?"  And  he  passed  the  message  to 
his  companion. 


DICK  AND  DORA  l6l 

"He  certainly  fooled  us,"  answered  Mr.  Lan- 

ing.     "I  suppose  those  yells  were  only  to  put  us 

off  our  guard.    It's  a  pity  we  didn't  carry  his  hat 

off    for    a    souvenir    of    the    occasion — as    you 

•  youngsters  put  it."    And  the  farmer  -grinned. 

"Perhaps  he  is  still  around,"  suggested  Dick. 
"If  he  tried  to  fool  us  once  he  might  try  to  fool 
us  again." 

"That's  so,  too.  It  won't  do  any  harm  to  take 
a  good  look  around  while  we  are  at  it,  Dick." 

They  spent  the  whole  of  the  morning  walking 
around  the  swamp  and  in  trying  to  trace  the 
movements  of  Merrick,  but  without  success. 
Nothing  concerning  the  rascal  was  to  be  found, 
and  when  they  felt  both  tired  out  and  hungry 
they  returned  to  the  Stanhope  cottage.  Here  the 
girls  and  the  ladies  had  a  hot  dinner  awaiting 
them  and  served  them  liberally,  finishing  up  with 
apple  pie  that  Dora  had  made  for  Dick's  especial 
benefit. 

"It's  fine !"  he  said  to  her,  on  the  sly. 

"Then  you  like  it?"  she  answered,  with  a  smile. 

"Do  I  ?  Dora,  when  we're  keeping  house  you 
shall  make  me  a  pie  like  this  twice  a  week,"  he 
added,  earnestly. 

"Dick,  if  you  don't  stop  your  joking " 

"Oh,  I'm  not  joking,  Dora.  Of  course,  if 
you're  not  willing  to  make  me  a  pie  now  and 
then " 


162  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"Oh,  it  isn't  that — I'll  make  all  the  pies  you 

want.  But — but "  And  then  Dora  blushed 

so  furiously  that  she  had  to  run  from  the  room. 
Dick  looked  after  her  longingly  and  heaved  a 
mountainous  sigh.  He  wished  that  all  his  acad 
emy  days  were  over  and  that  he  was  engaged  in 
business  and  settled  down  in  life.  He  knew  just 
what  kind  of  a  home  he  wanted,  and  who  he 
wanted  in  it  besides  himself-— and  perhaps  Dora 
knew,  too. 

"But  I  can't  think  of  those  things  yet,"  he 
mused,  as  he  finished  his  dinner.  "I've  got  to 
go  out  into  the  world  first,  get  into  business,  and 
prove  my  worth." 

The  meal  over,  it  was  decided  that  Dick  and 
Mr.  Laning  should  drive  to  Cedarville  and  get 
into  communication  with  the  local  authorities  and 
also  the  authorities  at  Ithaca.  This  was  done,  and 
the  following  day  another  hunt  was  made  for 
Merrick  But  he  could  not  be  found;  and  there, 
for  the  time  being,  the  affair  rested. 

"I  think  we'll  hear  from  him  again  some  day," 
said  Dick,  and  he  was  right ;  they  did  hear  from 
the  swindler,  and  when  they  least  expected  it. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

A    BOB    SLED    RACE 

"WHOOP!  hurrah!  it's  snowing!" 

Thus  shouted  Tom  one  day,  as  he  burst  into 
the  library  of  the  Hall,  where  Dick,  Sam  and  a 
number  of  others  were  perusing  books  and  the 
latest  magazines. 

"Hard?"  queried  Sam,  dropping  the  magazine 
he  held. 

"No,  but  steady.  Peleg  Snuggers  says  it  is 
going  to  be  a  heavy  fall,  and  he  generally 
knows." 

"And  he  loves  snowstorms  so,"  put  in  Fred, 
with  a  laugh.  "Do  you  remember  the  time  we 
made  a  big  fort  and  had  a  regular  battle  ?" 

"Indeed  I  do !"  cried  Larry.  It  was  great !  We 
ought  to  have  something  of  that  sort  this  win 
ter." 

"I  was  hoping  we'd  get  skating  before  it 
snowed,"  put  in  Songbird. 

"Well,  we  can't  have  all  the  good  things  at 
once,"  answered  Dick.  "I  think  a  heavy  snow- 
163 


1 64  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

storm  is  jolly.    Somehow,  when  it  snows  I  always 
feel  like  whistling  and  singing." 

"And  I  feel  like  making  up  verses,"  murmured 
«he  poet  of  the  school,  and  went  on : 

"Oh,  the  snow,  the  beautiful  snow, 
Coming  down  when  the  wind  does  blow. 
Coming  down  both  day  and  night, 
Leaving  the  earth  a  wonderful  sight ! 
Oh,  the  snow,  the  heavenly  snow! " 

"Wetting  our  feet  wherever  we  gol  " 

continued  Tom,  and  added : 

"Oh,  the  snow, 
When  the  wind  doth  blow, 
It  sets  a  pace 
And  hits  our  face 
And  we  are  froze 
Down  to  the  toes 
And  in  the  slush, 
That's  just  like  mush, 
We  cannot  stop, 
But  go  ker-flop  1  ' ' 

"Tom,  the  first  thing  you  know,  you'll  be 
taking  Songbird's  laurels  away  from  him,"  ob 
served  Larry. 

"Perish  the  thought !"  answered  the  fun-loving 
Rover,  tragically. 

"I  don't  hope  you  call  that  poetry,"  came  from 
Songbird,  in  deep  disgust  "Why,  Hans  can  do 
t>etter  than  that ;  can't  you,  Dutchy  ?" 


A  BOB  SLED  RACE  165 

"Sure,  I  can  make  up  some  find  boetry,"  an 
swered  Hans.  "Chust  you  listen  to  dis.  I  make 
him  ub  von  night  ven  I  couldn't  go  to  sleep." 

"Der  vos  a  leetle  pird, 

He  sits  ubon  a  dree, 
Dot  leetle  pird  vos  habby 

Like  von  leetle  pird  could  be 
A  hunter  mit  a  gun 

Py  dot  tree  did  lay, 
He  shoot  his  awful  gun, 

And  dot  pird — he  fly  avay! 

"Good  for  Hans !"  cried  Dick,  and  there  was  a 
general  laugh.  Then  the  gathering  in  the  library 
broke  up  and  all  the  cadets  went  outside  to  see 
how  the  snow  looked.  Before  long  there  was 
enough  on  the  ground  to  make  snowballs,  and 
then  a  battle  royal  all  around  ensued.  So  long 
as  they  took  care  not  to  break  any  windows,  Cap 
tain  Putnam  did  not  mind  this,  and  from  his 
office  the  master  of  the  Hall  and  George  Strong 
watched  the  sport. 

"Makes  one  feel  young  again,"  remarked  the 
captain  to  his  first  assistant. 

"I'd  half  like  to  go  out  myself,"  answered 
George  Strong. 

"I  remember  one  year  we  had  a  great  snowball 
'fight  at  West  Point,"  went  on  the  captain.  "It 
was  carried  out  in  regular  army  fashion  and 
lasted  half  a  day.  Our  side  was  victorious,  but 


166  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

we  had  to  fight  desperately  to  win.  I  was  struck 
in  the  chin  and  the  ear,  and  three  of  the  cadets 
were  knocked  unconscious.  But  it  was  good 
practice,  for  it  showed  us  something  of  what  a 
hand-to-hand  struggle  meant." 

The  snow  came  down  all  that  day  and  night, 
and  by  the  following  morning  covered  the  ground 
to  the  depth  of  about  a  foot.  It  was  somewhat 
moist  and  first-class  for  the  making  of  snow  men 
and  snowballs. 

"Let's  make  a  statue  of  Captain  Putnam,"  said 
Fred,  and  this  was  done,  the  statue  being  nearly 
ten  f#et  high.  It  must  be  confessed  it  was  not  a 
very  good  likeness,  but  it  looked  remarkably 
fierce  with  some  straws  for  a  moustache,  a  flat 
wooden  stick  for  a  sword,  and  an  old  army  cap 
on  the  top  of  the  head.  When  he  saw  it,  Captain 
Putnam  laughed  as  heartily  as  anybody.  Old  as. 
he  was  getting,  he  never  allowed  himself  to  for- 
gftt  the  time  when  he  was  a  boy. 

Some  distance  from  the  Hall  was  a  fair-sized 
hill  and  this  was  used  by  the  cadets  for  coasting. 
As  soon  as  school  was  over  that  day  the  lads 
brought  out  their  sleds  and  bobs,  and  soon  the 
hill  was  filled  with  boys,  their  merry  laughter 
ringing  far  and  wide.  The  Rovers  had  a  big 
bob  and  this  was  used  by  the  three  and  also  by 
several  of  their  friends. 


A  BOB  SLED  RACE  167 

"I'll  race  you!"  shouted  Dick,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  bob.  He  addressed  another  student 
named  Peter  Slade.  Slade  had  a  big  bob  and  had 
been  boasting  that  this  could  beat  any  other  bob 
on  the  hill. 

"All  right,"  answered  Slade.  He  was  a  lanky 
youth,  rather  lazy,  and  given  to  much  boasting. 

It  was  soon  arranged  that  each  bob  should 
carry  six  boys,  and  Fred,  Hans  and  Songbird 
went  with  the  Rovers.  The  two  bobs  lined  up 
side  by  side,  and  Larry  Colby  gave  the  word  to 

go- 

"We're  off!"  shouted  Tom,  giving  a  shove,  and 
leaping  on  behind. 

At  first  the  two  bobs  kept  side  by  side.  The 
slide  was  in  fine  condition,  and  all  the  other  cadets 
lined  up  on  either  side  to  watch  the  outcome  of 
the  race. 

"Hurrah  for  the  Rovers!" 

"Hurrah  for  Peter  Slade!" 

"May  the  best  bob  win!"  cried  one  student, 
.enthusiastically. 

"Here's  luck  to  you,  Tom!"  shouted  George 
Granbury,  and  threw  a  snowball  that  caught  Tom 
in  the  neck. 

"Thanks !"  shouted  Tom,  shaking  his  fist.  "I'll 
pay  that  back  with  interest  when  I  get  the 
chance." 


168  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

Half  of  the  course  was  soon  covered  and  still 
the  bobs  kept  side  by  side.  But  then  the  Rovers' 
bob  began  to  drag  behind. 

"Hurrah,  we  are  goin-g  to  win!"  cried  one  of 
the  boys  on  the  other  bob. 

"Said  I  could  beat  you !"  yelled  Peter  Slade  to 
Dick.  » 

"The  race  isn't  ended  yet,"  flung  back  the  eldest 
Rover  boy. 

On  and  on  went  the  two  bobs,  and  gradually 
that  belonging  to  Peter  Slade  drew  a  full  length 
ahead.  Dick  glanced  back  anxiously. 

"Something  seems  to  be  catching  under  the 
runners,"  he  said,  ;'Look  and  see  if  everything 
is  clear." 

"The  boys  behind  looked,  and  then  of  a  sudden 
Songbird  let  out  a  cry. 

"It  is  Hans'  tippet!  Hans,  go  and  put  that 
tippet  end  around  your  neck  and  don't  let  it  drag 
under  the  bob!" 

The  German  youth  was  wearing  an  old-fashion 
tippet  around  his  neck,  the  loose  ends  flying  be 
hind.  One  end  had  gotten  under  the  bob  run 
ners  and  was  scratching  along  in  the  snow. 

"Veil  I  neffer!"  cried  Hans,  and  pulled  on  the 
tippet  so  vigorously  that  the  long  bob  began  to 
switch  around  sideways. 

"Look  out  there!"  sang  out  Sam.  "Don't 
throw  us  off!" 


A  SOS  SLED  RACE  169 

"Wait,  I'll  loosen  the  tippet,"  came  from  Song 
bird^  and  guided  the  muffler  free  of  the  bob.  Then 
Hans  took  up  the  ends  and  tied  them  around  his 
waist, 

Thfe  drag  had  caused  the  Rovers'  bob  to  get ' 
two  lengths  behind  the  other,  and  Peter  Slade 
and  his  companions  felt  certain  of  winning. 

"You  can't  touch  us,  Dick  Rover!"  called 
Slade,  triumphantly. 

"Good-bye!"  called  another  boy.  "We'll  tell 
those  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  that  you  are  com 
ing." 

"Are  we  making  better  time?"  questioned  Tomy 
anxiously.  "If  we  are  not  I'll  get  off  and  shove," 
he  added,  jokingly. 

"You  hold  tight  now !"  yelled  Dick,  and  an  in 
stant  later  the  bob  went  down  over  a  ridge  of  the 
hill.  Free  of  the  drag,  it  shot  forth  like  an  arrow 
from  a  bow,  and  soon  began  to  crawl  up  to  Peter 
Slade's  turnout. 

"The  Rovers  are  crawling  up !" 

"Yes,  but  it's  too  late  to  win!" 

"We've  got  to  win!"  called  out  Sam. 

And  then  both  bobs  took  another  ridge  and> 
rushed  on  to  the  end  of  the  course,  less  than  ? 
hundred  yards  away. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

SNUGGERS'  QUEER  RIDE 


THE  race  had  now  reached  its  critical  point  and 
all  of  the  cadets  on  the  hill  waited  for  the  out 
come  with  keen  interest.  The  bob  owned  by 
Peter  Slade  was  still  two  lengths  in  advance,  and 
it  looked  very  much  as  if  Peter  would  be  the 
victor. 

But  with  the  passing  of  the  last  ridge  the 
Rovers'  bob  seemed  to  become  endowed  with 
new  life.  With  no  drag  on  the  runners,  it  shot 
forward  with  a  speed  that  surprised  even  Dick. 
Steadily  it  gained  on  the  other  bob,  until,  when 
the  end  of  the  course  was  but  fifty  yards  away, 
the  two  were  almost  side  by  side. 

"Let  her  out,  Pete!"  cried  one  of  the  boys  on 
'  Slade's  bob,  but  Peter  could  do  no  more. 

"It's  a  tie  race  !"  called  several,  but  hardly  had 
the  words  been  spoken  when  the  Rovers'  bob 
shot  ahead,  and  reached  the  end  of  the  course  a 
.winner  by  twenty-five  feet. 

170 


PELEG  SNUGGERS'  QUEER  RIDE          171 

"Hurrah !  the  Rovers  win !" 

"I  tell  you  what,  you  can't  get  ahead  of  Dick 
Rover  and  his  crowd !" 

Peter  Slade  was  much  chagrinned  to  have  the 
victory  snatched  from  him,  and  began  to  mutter 
something  about  the  race  not  being  a  fair  one. 

"I  agree  with  you,  it  was  not  fair,"  answered 
Sam.  "Hans'  tippet  caught  under  our  runners 
and  held  us  up  a  good  deal." 

"If  it  hadn't  been  for  that  we  would  have  won 
by  three  times  the  distance,"  added  Tom. 

"Humph!"  muttered  Peter  Slade.  "I  guess 
you  jumped  off  once  and  pushed." 

"I  did  not,"  answered  Tom,  hotly. 

"I  think  you  did." 

"And  I  say  I  didn't,"  and  now  Tom  doubled 
up  his  fists. 

"Oh,  don't  quarrel,"  put  in  Larry,  who  was 
near.  "If  Peter  isn't  satisfied  why  not  race  over 
again?" 

"I  am  willing,"  answered  Dick,  promptly. 

"I'm  tired  of  riding,"  said  Slade.  "I— er— I 
am  not  feeling  extra  well  and  it  shakes  me  up  too 
much." 

"Then  let  some  of  the  others  use  the  bob." 

"No,  it  needs  overhauling,  and  I  am  going  to 
have  it  fixed  up,"  was  Slade's  answer,  and  began 
to  move  off  toward  the  Hall,  dragging  his  bob 
after  him. 


172  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"He's  afraid  to  race,"  said  George.  "My! 
how  mad  it  makes  some  fellows  to  get  beaten!" 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  Peter  Slade  had 
been  one  of  Tad  Bobber's  cronies,  and  now  that 
,Sobber  was  gone  he  took  it  on  his  shoulders  to  fill 
the  bully's  place  in  the  particular  set  to  which  he 
belonged.  He  was  a  quick-tempered  youth,  and 
had  been  in  more  than  one  fight  since  his  arrival 
at  Putnam  Hall. 

The  boys  who  could  not  ride  on  the  hill 
amused  themselves  by  making  some  big  snow 
balls,  which  they  allowed  to  roll  down  another 
hill.  One  of  the  snowballs  made  was  fully  eight 
feet  in  diameter,  and  it  was  a  great  sight  to  see 
this  go  down,  getting  bigger  and  bigger  as  it 
progressed. 

"Hello,  I've  got  an  idea!"  cried  Tom,  as  he 
watched  the  rolling  of  the  big  snowballs. 

"Something  brand  new,  Tom?"  queried  Larry. 

"I  think  so.  Let  us  give  Peleg  Snuggers  a 
roll.  It  will  do  him  good — shake  up  his  liver, 
and  all  that." 

I    "You  mean  to  roll  him  down  this  hill?"  asked 
a.  student  named  Morley. 

"That's  it." 

"Might  hurt  him." 

"Not  if  we  put  a  snow  overcoat  on,  him  first," 
answered  Tom. 


PELEG  SNUGGERS'  QUEER  RIDE          173 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  another  student 

"Let  us  roll  a  big  ball  the  shape  of  an  egg  and 
hollow  out  the  middle.  Then  by  some  trick  we 
can  'get  Peleg  to  crawl  inside,  and " 

"That's  the  thing!"  cried  George  Garrisoa 
"Come  on.  Where  is  Peleg?" 

"Down  at  the  stables." 

With  eager  hands  the  cadets  set  to  work  and 
rolled  up  a  big  ball  in  the  shape  of  an  egg  and 
then  dug  out  the  middle  with  a  shovel.  In  the 
meantime  a  message  was  sent  to  the  general 
utility  man  that  he  was  wanted  at  the  top  of  the 
hill  at  once. 

"Must  want  me  to  mend  a  sled,"  he  mused,  and 
hurried  off,  taking  with  him  some  tools,  nails 
and  cord.  He  often  did  favors  for  the  cadets, 
who  gave  him  "tips"  in  return. 

When  Peleg  Snuggers  arrived  at  the  top  of  the 
hill  the  big  snowball  was  ready  for  use. 

"Here  is  Peter !"  cried  Tom.  "He  can  do  the 
trick  for  us.  Can't  you,  Peter  ?" 

"What  is  that,  Tom?"  asked  the  general  utility 
man,  innocently. 

"We  want  to  fasten  this  cord  in  the  hole 
through  that  big  snowball,  but  we  don't  want  to' 
get  it  crossed,"  went  on  Tom,  anxiously.  "Will 
you  take  the  cord,  crawl  in  there  and  then  pass 
the  end  out  and  over  the  end  of  this  shovel,  and 
then  loop  it  over  to  the  other  end  ?" 


174  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"Why — er — I  don't  understand,"  stammered 
Peleg  Snuggers. 

"I'll  explain  after  you  are  inside  the  ball,"  said 
Tom.  "Here's  the  cord,"  and  he  led  the  general 
utility  man  to  the  hole  and  helped  him  to  get 
down. 

Not  suspecting  a  trick,  Snuggers  crawled  into 
the  big  snowball.  Before  he  could  do  anything 
with  the  cord  given  to  him  the  cadets  rushed  for 
ward  and  gave  the  snowball  a  push  toward  the 
edge  of  the  hill. 

"Hi !  stop  that!"  roared  the  general  utility  man, 
trying  to  back  out. 

"Hold  tight — the  snowball  is  getting  away 
from  us!"  yelled  Tom.  "Somebody  keep  it  from 
going  down  the  hill !" 

"We  can't  hold  it  back!"  screamed  Larry, 
grinning  at  the  same  time. 

"It's  bound  to  go — too  bad !"  wailed  another. 

"Say,  let  me  git  out!"  yelled  Peleg  Snuggers, 
but  at  that  moment  the  snowball  began  to  turn 
.j  over.  "I'll  be  killed!  Oh,  dear,  I  think  you  did 
this  a-purpose,  you  rascals!" 

"Never!"  came  back  promptly. 

"Enjoy  the  ride  while  you  have  the  chance, 
Peleg!" 

"You've  got  a  free  ticket  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hill!" 


PELEG  SNUGGERS'  QUEER  RIDE  175 

"Let  me  out!  Stop  her!"  yelled  Snuggers,  and 
they  saw  his  feet  at  one  end  of  the  big  snowball 
and  his  hands  at  the  other.  I  can't  stand  rollin', 
nohow !" 

"You're  not  standing,"  called  Sam.  "You  are 
just  rolling." 

Away  went  the  big  snowball,  down  the  long 
hill,  and  the  cadets  after  it.  As  it  progressed  it 
grew  larger  and  larger.  They  saw  Peleg  Snug 
gers  shove  out  his  head  from  one  end,  and  the 
head  went  around  and  around  like  a  top. 

"I  guess  he'll  be  rather  dizzy  when  the  trip's 
ended,"  observed  Songbird. 

At  last  the  snowball  came  to  a  stop  in  a  stretch 
of  meadow  land.  The  students  rushed  up  just 
in  time  to  see  Peleg  Snuggers  crawl  out  on  his 
hands  and  knees.  When  he  arose  he  staggered 
around  as  if  intoxicated. 

"Say,  you  young  villains !"  he  gasped,  and  then 
had  to  stop  to  catch  his  breath. 

"Oh,  Peleg,  why  did  you  run  away  with  our 
snowball?"  asked  Tom,  innocently. 

"It  was  a  mean  thing  to  do,"  put  in  Dick. 

"We  wanted  some  fun  with  that  ball,"  added 
Sam. 

"I — run — off — with  the — the  snowball  ?" 
gasped  the  general  utility  man.  "I  want  you  to 
know " 


176  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"Oh,  we  know  all  about  it,"  interrupted  Tom. 
"I  know  what's  the  matter.  You've  been  drink 
ing,  and  didn't  know  what  you  were  doing." 

"Perhaps  we  had  better  report  this  to  Captain 
Putnam,"  said  Larry.  "Drinking  isn't  alloweu 
around  here,  you  know." 

"I  hain't  drunk  a  drop — it's  the  rollin'  as  made 
me  dizzy,"  roared  Peleg  Snuggers.  "Oh,  dear, 
I  can't  stand  straight,"  and  he  bumped  up  against 
the  big  snowball  and  sat  down  in  a  heap. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  think  you  ought  to  do," 
proceeded  Tom,  calmly.  "I  think  you  ought  to 
roll  our  snowball  back  up  the  hill  for  us." 

"Roll  it  back?"  snorted  Snuggers.  "Why, 
four  hosses  couldn't  pull  that  weight  o'  snow  up 
the  hill!  I  ain't  going  to  tech  the  snowball." 

"Then  at  least  pay  us  for  the  ride  you've  had," 
suggested  Sam. 

"I  ain't  goin'  to  do  that  nuther!  It's  a  trick 
that's  what  it  is!"  growled  the  general  utility 
man,  and  arose  unsteadily.  "I'll  be  sick  for  a 
week  after  this,  I  know  I  will!" 

"Never  mind,"  said  Dick,  soothingly.  "Just 
get  Mrs.  Green  to  give  you  a  dose  of  pink  Whirl 
Around  Pills,  and  you'll  be  all  right  again." 

"I  shan't  never  come  out  to  this  hill  again,  not 
fer  nobody,"  grumbled  the  general  utility  man, 
and  walked  off.  Then  he  turned  to  gaze  at  the 
cadets.  "You  do  anything  like  that  again  an* 


PELEG  S MUGGERS'  QUEER  RIDE          j^r 

I'll  tell  Captain  Putnam  on  ye,  see  if  I  don't.  I 
ain't  going  to  be  no  merry-go-'round,  or  spinnin' 
top  fer  nobody!"  And  then  he  hurried  for  the 
stables  and  disappeared. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

HOLIDAYS  AT  THE  FARM 

ALMOST  before  they  knew  it,  the  mid-winter 
holidays  were  at  hand,  and  the  Rover  boys  went 
home  to  enjoy  Christmas  and  New  Year.  On 
their  way  they  stopped  at  several  stores  in  Ithaca, 
where  they  purchased  a  number  of  Christmas 
presents.  Some  of  these  they  mailed  at  the  post- 
office.  Dick  sent  a  nice  book  to  Dora,  and  Tom 
and  Sam  sent  books  to  Grace  and  Nellie.  The 
boys  also  united  in  the  gift  of  a  stick  pin  to  Mrs. 
Stanhope  and  another  to  Mrs.  Laning,  and  sent 
Mr.  Laning  a  necktie.  Captain  Putnam  was  not 
forgotten,  and  they  likewise  remembered  George 
Strong.  The  rest  of  their  purchases  they  took 
home,  for  distribution  there. 

A  number  of  the  other  students  had  come  as, 

• 

far  as  Ithaca  with  them,  and  here  the  crowd  had 
dinner  at  one  of  the  hotels, — the  same  place 
where  Tom  had  once  played  his  great  joke  on 
Josiah  Crabtree. 

"By  the  way,  who  knows  anything  about  Nick 
Pell?"  asked  one  of  the  students,  while  dining. 
178 


HOLIDAYS  AT  THE  FARM  179 

"He  has  been  removed  to  his  home  in  the  city," 
answered  George  Granbury. 

''Is  he  better?"  questioned  Dick. 

"They  say  he  is  better  some  days,  but  at  other 
times  he  is  worse.  The  poison  somehow  affected 
his  mind." 

"What  a  terrible  thing  to  happen,"  murmured 
the  eldest  Rover,  and  then  shuddered  to  think 
what  might  have  ensued  had  the  snake  bitten  him. 

"Any  news  of  Tad  Sobber?"  asked  another 
cadet.  He  looked  at  each  of  the  others,  but  alf 
shook  their  heads. 

"It's  queer  where  he  went  to,"  said  Songbird. 
"Wonder  if  Captain  Putnam  tried  to  communi 
cate  with  his  folks?" 

"He  has  only  an  uncle,  and  the  captain  couldn't 
find  him,"  answered  another  youth  who  was 
present. 

As  the  dinner  progressed  the  boys  warmed  up, 
and  at  the  conclusion  they  sang  several  songs. 
Then  the  Rovers  had  to  rush  for  their  train  and 
they  caught  it  just  as  it  was  pulling  out  of  the 
station. 

"Hullo!"  cried  Sam,  as  he  dropped  into  a  seat, 
and  he  pointed  out  of  the  car  window. 

"What's  up  now?"  queried  Tom. 

"I  saw  a  fellow  on  the  depot  platform  who 
looked  like  Tad  Sobber!" 


l8o  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"Are  you  sure  it  was  Sobber?"  demanded 
Dick. 

"No,  I  am  not  dead  certain-— but  the  fellow 
looked  a  good  deal  like  Tad." 

"Must  have  been  a  mistake,"  was  Tom's  com 
ment.  "What  would  he  be  doing  around  Ithaca  ?" 

"Well,  he's  got  to  stay  somewhere,  Tom." 

"But  he  wouldn't  stay  so  close  to  Cedarville — 
he'd  probably  go  to  some  big  city,"  put  in  Dick. 

As  the  train  rushed  on  the  Rover  boys  talked 
the  matter  over,  but  could  make  nothing  out  of  it. 

"I  suppose  he  is  in  hiding  waiting  to  see  if  Nick 
Pell  will  recover,"  said  Dick.  "He  knows  that  if 
Nick  doesn't  get  over  his  trouble  he'll  be  liable  to 
prosecution." 

At  the  station  at  Oak  Run  the  boys  found  their 
father  awaiting  them  with  the  big  family  sleigh. 
All  piled  in,  and  over  the  crisp  snow  they  started 
for  Valley  Brook  farm. 

"I  need  not  ask  how  you  are  feeling,"  said 
Anderson  Rover.  "Every  one  of  you  looks  the 
picture  of  health." 

"I  never  felt  better  in  my  life,"  declared  Dick, 
and  Tom  and  Sam  said  the  same. 

"Has  Uncle  Randolph  heard  anything  more  of 
his  traction  company  bonds?"  asked  Tom,  as 
they  drove  along. 

"Not  a  word  more,"  answered  his  father.  "It 
is  a  great  loss  to  him." 


HOLIDAYS  AT  THE  FARM  181 

"Do  you  suppose  the  game  was  tried  on  any 
body  else?"  asked  Sam. 

"We  have  not  heard  of  it." 

Arriving  at  home,  the  boys  were  warmly 
greeted  by  their  uncle  and  their  aunt  and  also  by 
the  others  around  the  house.  Their  aunt  had  a 
hot  supper  awaiting  them,  and  while  they  ate  this 
the  whole  subject  of  the  missing  bonds  was 
thoroughly  discussed.  The  boys  learned  that  a 
private  detective  was  still  on  the  trail  of  Merrick 
and  Pike,  but  so  far  had  reported  nothing  of 
importance. 

"I  believe  those  rascals, — or  at  least  Merrick — 
must  belong  around  Lake  Cayuga,"  observed 
Dick.  "Otherwise  we  shouldn't  have  seen  Mer 
rick  in  Ithaca  and  up  at  the  Stanhope  place." 

"I  was  very  simple  to  let  them  get  the  best  of 
me.  The  next  time  I  shall  be  more  careful,"  said 
Randolph  Rover. 

The  boys  learned  from  Jack  Ness  that  hunting 
in  the  woods  back  of  the  farm  was  good,  and 
two  days  before  Christmas  they  went  out  with 
\  the  hired  man.  They  went  for  rabbits  and  squir- 
1  rels,  and  each  took  his  shotgun  along  and  a  sub 
stantial  lunch,  for  they  expected  to  be  out  the 
greater  part  of  the  day. 

It  was  clear,  cold  weather,  the  sun  glistening 
brightly  on  the  snow.  They  journeyed  directly 
for  a  portion  of  the  woods  they  knew  was  a  fa* 


J82  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

vorite  spot  for  rabbits,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  started  up  several. 

"There  they  go!"  cried  Dick,  and  took  aim. 
Bang!  bang!  went  his  gun,  and  the  reports  of 
Tom's  firearm  followed.  Three  rabbits  came 
down,  and  a  few  minutes  later  Sam  brought  an 
other  one  low. 

"Four  for  a  starter  are  not  so  bad,"  remarked 
Tom,  as  the  game  was  placed  in  their  bags.  "Even 
if  we  don't  get  any  more  we  won't  have  to  go 
home  empty-handed." 

By  noon  they  had  made  their  way  directly 
through  the  woods  and  had  eleven  rabbits  and 
three  squirrels  to  their  credit.  Then  Tom  sug 
gested  they  build  a  campfire  and  rest  while  eating 
their  lunch  and  this  was  done. 

"I  wish  we  could  bring  down  a  fox  or  two," 
said  Jack  Ness.  "They  have  been  bothering  the 
chickens  again  lately — carried  off  two  only  night 
before  last." 

"Do  you  know  where  they  hang  out?"  asked 
Dick 

"I  think  they  come  from  over  yonder,"  and 
the  hired  man  pointed  with  his  hand  to  the  north 
ward. 

"Let  us  travel  in  that  direction  after  dinner," 
suggested  Sam.  "Even  if  we  don't  spot  any 
foxes  we  may  find  as  many  rabbits  and  squirr^c 
there  as  anywhere  else." 


HOLIDAYS  AT  THE  FARM  183 

The  others  were  willing,  and  half  of  the  after 
noon  was  spent  by  the  four  hunters  in  a  locality 
that  was  new  to  them.  One  fox  was  sighted, 
and  Jack  Ness  shot  the  animal  in  the  hind  quar 
ters,  and  then  Sam  finished  him  by  a  shot  in  the 
side. 

"Well,  that  makes  one  fox  less  anyway,"  said 
the  hired  man. 

They  kept  on,  and  brought  down  two  rabbits 
and  a  wild  turkey.  By  this  time  they  were  pretty 
well  tired  out,  and  Tom  suggested  that  they  start 
for  home. 

"It's  a  long  tramp,"  he  said,  "and  by  the  time 
we  get  back  I  guess  we'll  all  be  ready  to  rest." 

"As  for  that,  I  am  ready  to  rest  now,"  said 
Sam.  "Tramping  through  the  snow  is  no  easy 
task." 

"Especially  if  a  fellow's  legs  aren't  very  long," 
returned  Dick,  with  a  grin. 

"Well,  mine  are  as  long  as  they  ought  to  be," 
came  from  Sam,  promptly.  "They  reach  to  the 
ground,  and  yours  don't  reach  any  further,"  and 
then  there  was  a  general  laugh,  Jack  Ness  guf 
fawing  loudly. 

The  hired  man  said  he  knew  of  a  short  cut  to 
the  farm,  and  they  followed  him  to  something  of 
a  path  through  the  woods  and  then  out  on  a  trail 
made  years  before  by  charcoal  burners.  Soon 
they  came  in  sight  of  a  cabin,  from  the  chimney 
of  which  the  smoke  was  curling. 


rS4  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"Who  lives  here  ?"  asked  Dick. 

"An  old  man  named  Derringham,"  answered 
Jack  Ness.  "He  is  very  old  and  somewhat  out 
of  his  head.  He  makes  his  living  by  selling 
herbs  and  barks  for  medicine.  Years  ago,  so  they 
say,  he  was  an  herb  doctor,  but  he  didn't  have  a 
certificate,  or  something  like  that,  so  the  authori 
ties  drove  him  out  of  business.  After  that  he 
got  queer  and  took  to  the  woods." 

"Let  us  go  in  and  see  him,"  said  Tom,  whose 
curiosity  was  aroused.  He  walked  boldly  up  to 
the  hut  and  knocked  loudly  on  the  dilapidated 
door. 

"Who  is  that,  Pop?"  he  heard  somebody  ask, 
in  a  startled  voice. 

"I  don't  know,  sir,"  was  the  answer,  in  the 
voice  of  an  old  man. 

"I  don't  want  to  see  anybody,"  went  on  the 
first  speaker.  "Send  him  away,  whoever  he  is." 

"Go  away!"  cried  the  old  man.  "I  don't  want 
anybody  around  here." 

By  this  time  all  of  the  party  outside  were  at 
the  door.  Tom's  face  showed  that  he  was  labor 
ing  under  sudden  surprise. 

"Evidently  the  old  man  doesn't  want  visitors/' 
was  Dick's  comment. 

"There  is  somebody  else  in  there  with  him," 
whispered  Tom.  From  his  voice  I  should  say  k 
was  Bill  Dangler!" 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

A  CAPTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE 

THE  others  were  much  astonished  by  what 
'1'orn  said,  and  they  could  scarcely  believe  that 
they  had  heard  aright. 

"Bill  Dangler!"  cried  Sam,  but  Tom  put  his 
hand  over  his  brother's  mouth  to  silence  him. 
Then  he  nodded  vigorously. 

"What  would  that  freight  thief  be  doing  here?" 
questioned  Dick,  in  a  whisper. 

"I  am  sure  I  don't  know.  But  I  am  almost  cer 
tain  it  was  Dangler's  voice.  If  you  will  remem 
ber,  it  has  a  certain  shrillness  to  it." 

"Yes,  I  know  that." 

During  this  talk  there  were  murmurs  in  the 
cabin  which  those  outside  could  not  understand. 
Then  the  old  man  came  towards  the  door  and 
slipped  a  bolt  into  place. 

"I  want  you  to  go  away!"  he  said  sharply.  "I 
don't  like  strangers  around  here." 

"We  won't  hurt  you,  Mr.  Derringham,"  said 
Dick.  "We  came  to  pay  you  a  friendly  visit" 

186 


186  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"Wouldn't  you  like  a  nice  rabbit  from  us?" 

asked  Tom,  bound  to  get  into  the  cabin  somehow. 

I      "I  have  no  money  with  which  to  buy  rabbits." 

"We'll  make  you  a  present  of  one,"  said  Sam. 
\  "I  want  no  presents  from  anybody.  I  want 
(you  to  go  away,"  said  the  old  man,  in  a  high- 
pitched,  nervous  tone. 

"Mr.  Derringham,  don't  you  remember  me?'* 
asked  Jack  Ness.  "I  used  to  buy  herbs  and  wa 
tercress  from  you.  I'd  like  to  speak  to  you  for 
a  minute." 

"Who  are  you?" 

"I  am  Jack  Ness,  the  man  who  works  over  on 
the  Rover  farm." 

"The  Rover  farm!"  muttered  a  voice  in  the 
cabin.  "Don't  let  them  in !  Don't  you  do  it !" 

"I  am  sure  that  is  Dangler!"  cried  Tom,  whose 
ears  were  on  the  alert.  "If  he  is  really  there  we 
have  him  cornered !" 

"Yes,  and  he  shan't  get  away  from  us  again," 
added  Dick. 

"If  he  tries  it  we  can  halt  him  with  a  dose  of 
buckshot,"  put  in  Sam. 

After  that  there  was  a  pause,  the  boys  not 
knowing  exactly  how  to  proceed.  Tom  pressed 
on  the  door,  but  it  refused  to  give  way. 

"I  tell  you  I  want  you  to  leave !"  cried  the  old 
man,  after  some  more  whispering  in  the  cabin. 
"If  you  don't  go  away  I'll  get  my  gun." 


A  CAPTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE  187 

"There  are  four  of  us  and  all  armed,"  an 
swered  Dick.  "So  you  had  better  not  do  any 
shooting.  But  you  have  got  to  open  that  door. 
We  will  do  you  no  harm." 

"What  do  you  want  in  here?" 

"We  want  to  see  who  is  in  there  with  you?'* 
answered  Tom,  boldly. 

"Don't  you  know  that  I  am  alone  ?" 

"You  are  not  alone,"  said  Sam. 

"Well,  I  know  best,"  was  the  hesitating  an 
swer.  "If  I  was  sure  you  wouldn't  hurt  me  I'd 
let  you  in." 

"We  will  not  harm  you  in  the  least,"  answered 
Dick. 

There  was  a  moving  around  in  the  cabin  and 
what  seemed  to  be  the  dropping  of  a  door.  Then 
old  Derringham  came  forward  again. 

"You  are  sure  you  won't  rob  me  if  I  open  the 
door?"  he  asked. 

"We  mean  you  no  harm — if  you  will  do  what 
is  right,"  said  Tom. 

Then  the  door  was  thrown  open  and  the  Rover 
boys  and  Jack  Ness  were  confronted  by  a  man 
at  least  seventy  years  of  age.  He  had  snow- 
white  hair  and  a  snowy  beard  that  reached  to  his 
waist. 

The  boys  and  the  hired  man  went  hastily  into 
the  cabin  and  looked  around.  Nobody  but  Der 
ringham  was  in  sight.  Dick  looked  at  the  floor 


188  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

under  the  table  and  saw  something  which  looked 
like  a  trap  door. 

"He  must  have  gone  into  the  cellar,"  said  he 
to  the  others,  and  made  a  movement  forward. 

"Stop,  do  not  touch  that  table!"  cried  the  old 
man,  in  alarm. 

"Mr.  Derringham,  listen  to  me,"  said  the  eldest 
Rover  boy  firmly.  "We  are  after  a  criminal — 
a  man  who  for  years  robbed  the  railroad  com 
pany  of  valuable  freight.  We  know  he  is  some 
where  around  your  place.  If  you  shield  this 
criminal,  or  aid  him  in  getting  away,  you  will  be 
guilty  of  a  crime." 

At  this  strong  assertion  the  old  man  began  to 
tremble,  and  he  looked  from  one  to  another  of 
those  before  him  in  alarm. 

"I-.— I  Bill  Dangler  said  it  was  not  true — that  it 
was  a  plot  against  him,"  he  murmured. 

"It  is  true,  and  there  is  no  plot  against  him, 
excepting  to  make  him  pay  the  penalty  of  his 
crimes,"  put  in  Tom.  "If  you  have  hidden  him 
you  had  better  give  him  up." 

"I  know  you,"  said  old  Derringham,  turning 
to  Jack  Ness.  "You  used  to  pay  me  good  prices 
tfor  what  you  bought  of  me.  Can  I  trust  you?" 
he  went  on,  pleadingly. 

"Certainly  you  can,  and  you  can  trust  these 
boys,  too."  was  the  hired  man's  reply.  "If  you 


A  CAPTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE  189 

want  to  keep  out  of  trouble  you  had  better  help 
us  all  you  can." 

By  this  time  Dick  had  the  table  shoved  to  one 
side.  Under  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  legs  he 
found  a  small  iron  ring,  connecting  with  the  door 
in  the  floor.  He  pulled  on  this  and  the  door  came 
up,  showing  a  small  cellar  below,  used  chiefly  by 
the  old  man  for  the  storage  of  winter  vegetables 
and  the  roots  he  gathered. 

"Dangler,  you  might  as  well  come  up!"  called 
out  Dick.  "It  won't  do  you  any  good  to  try  to 
hide." 

"What  do  you  want  of  me?"  came  in  a  sullen 
voice  from  below. 

"You  know  very  well  what  we  want." 

"I  haven't  done  anything." 

"You  can  tell  that  to  the  police,  after  you  are 
locked  up.  Come  up." 

Slowly  and  with  downcast  face  Bill  Dangler 
crawled  from  the  small  cellar  and  pulled  himself 
up  to  the  floor  of  the  cabin.  He  gazed  reproach 
fully  at  the  old  man,  who  was  again  trembling. 

"I'll  fix  you  for  going  back  on  me,"  he  mut 
tered. 

"They  say  you  are  a  thief,"  answered  the  old 
man.  "If  you  are,  I  want  nothing  more  to  do 
with  you.  I  am  poor,  but  I  am  honest — every 
body  who  knows  me  knows  that." 


190  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

"He  shall  not  harm  you,"  put  in  Tom.  "He'll 
soon  be  behind  the  bars." 

A  glance  at  the  party  of  four,  with  their  shot 
guns,  convinced  the  freight  thief  that  escape 
was  out  of  the  question. 

"I  suppose  I'll  have  to  give  up,"  he  growled. 
''But  I  ain't  as  guilty  as  you  may  think  I  am." 

"You  are  guilty  enough,"  said  Sam. 

"I  didn't  plan  those  freight  robberies." 

"Who  did  then?"  questioned  Tom. 

"Merrick  and  Pike.  I  don't  mind  telling  on 
them,  for  they  have  gone  back  on  me." 

"Is  Merrick  the  head  of  the  gang?"  asked 
Dick. 

"Yes." 

"Where  is  he  now?" 

"If  I  tell  will  you  let  me  go?" 

"I  can't  do  that,  Dangler." 

"Well,  I  don't  care  anyway.  Merrick  hasn't 
treated  me  right,  and  he  ought  to  suffer.  He  has 
a  hangout  a  few  miles  from  the  city  of  Ithaca, 
if  you  know  where  that  is." 

"Yes,  on  Lake  Cayuga." 

"That's  it." 

"You  say  a  few  miles  from  the  city,"  pursued 
Sam.  "What  do  you  mean  by  that?" 

'He  and  some  of  his  friends,  Pike  among 
them,  have  a  meeting  place  along  the  lake.  It's 
an  old  house,  unpainted,  and  with  very  narrow 


A  CAPTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE  191 

windows,  so  I've  been  told.  You  find  that  house 
and  likely  you'll  find  Merrick  and  Pike." 

"I  thought  those  chaps  were  from  the  city?" 
said  Sam. 

"They  are,  but  every  once  in  a  while  they  find 
it  convenient  to  disappear,  and  then  they  go  tc 
that  place  on  Lake  Cayuga.  It's  an  old  home 
stead  that  used  to  belong  to  Merrick's  sister." 

"We  ought  to  be  able  to  find  that  place,"  said 
Tom  to  his  brothers.  "Especially  if  it  was  a 
homestead." 

"Was  the  sister's  name  Merrick,  too,  or  was 
she  married?"  asked  Sam. 

"She  was  a  widow,  so  I  was  told.  When  she 
died  she  left  her  son  in  charge  of  Merrick — but 
I  don't  believe  he  ever  looked  after  the  boy  very 
much." 

"What  was  her  name  ?"  asked  Dick. 

"Sobber— Mary  Ann  Sobber." 

"Sobber!"  ejaculated  the  three  Rover  boys. 

"That's  it." 

"Did  you  ever  hear  the  son's  name?"  asked 
Dick. 

"I  don't  remember — yes,  I  do.  Merrick  had 
a  letter  from  him  once.  The  boy's  name  was 
Tad  Sobber.  He  was  at  a  boarding  school  some 
where." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  FARM 

"WHAT  do  you  think  of  that  ?" 

"Isn't  that  the  greatest  ever !" 

"Well,  I'm  sorry  for  Tad." 

Such  were  the  exclamations  from  the 
Rover  boys  after  listening  to  Bill  Dangler's  dec 
laration  that  the  lad  who  had  run  away  from  Put 
nam  Hall  was  the  nephew  of  Merrick. 

"Are  you  certain  of  this?"  asked  Dick. 

"Certainly  I  am.  But  why  are  you  so  inter 
ested  in  Merrick's  sister  and  her  son?" 

"I  will  tell  you,"  answered  Tom.  "Tad  Sob- 
ber  used  to  go  to  school  with  us,  but  he  ran  away 
a  short  while  ago  and  we  haven't  heard  from  him 
since." 

"Phew!  so  that's  it!  Maybe  he's  with  his 
uncle." 

"Like  as  not  I  wonder  if  he  knows  his  uncle 
is  a  thief?" 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  that.  Sid  Mer 
rick  is  a  sly  one  and  can  put  on  the  most  innocent 
front  you  ever  saw." 


CHRISTMAS  AT  TPIE  FARM  193 

"What  do  you  know  about  Pike?" 

"Oh,  John  Pike  is  only  a  tool,  same  as  I  was." 

After  that  Bill  Dangler  seemed  anxious  to  re 
lieve  his  mind,  and  he  related  many  of  the  par 
ticulars  of  the  freight  robberies.  He  said  that 
all  had  been  planned  by  Sid  Merrick,  and  that  two 
other  men  were  implicated  besides  himself  and 
Pike  and  named  the  men.  He  said  that  Merrick 
had  sold  the  stolen  stuff  in  various  large  cities. 

"Did  he  divide  with  the  others?"  asked  Dick. 

"He  was  supposed  to  do  it,  but  I  don't  think 
any  of  us  ever  got  our  full  share." 

Old  Derringham  listened  to  the  thief's  recital 
with  keen  interest.  But  presently  he  rushed  for 
ward  and  caught  Bill  Dangler  by  the  arm. 

"I  want  you  to  go!"  he  cried,  almost  fiercely. 
"I  want  no  tb'^f  under  my  roof!" 

"He  shall  go,  and  at  once,"  declared  Dick.  "It 
is  getting  late,  and  it  is  a  long  tramp  to  Oak 
Run." 

"He  owes  me  a  dollar  for  keeping  him  several 
daj's,"  went  on  the  old  man, 

"Then  he  had  better  pay  you,"  said  Tom. 

Dangler  wanted  to  demur,  but  in  the  end  he 
paid  for  his  board,  and  then  the  whole  party  left, 
the  old  man  gazing  after  them  curiously.  That 
he  had  been  entirely  innocent  in  the  affair  there 
could  not  be  the  slightest  doubt. 

"Now,  Dangler,  it  won't  do  you  any  good  to 


194  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

try  to  get  away,"  said  Dick,  as  tbey  tramped 
along  through  the  snow.  "We  are  four  to  one 
and  armed." 

"I  won't  try  to  run  away,"  was  the  doggea 
answer. 

"If  you  give  the  authorities  all  the  help  you 
can,  perhaps,  when  it  comes  to  a  trial,  they  will 
be  a  little  easy  on  you,"  put  in  Tom. 

"I  hope  so.  I  was  coaxed  into  this.  I  used 
to  be  an  honest  man,"  responded  the  freight  thief. 

"Well,  before  you  die,  you'll  learn  that  'hon 
esty  is  the  best  policy,'  "  observed  Sam. 

"I've  learned  that  already.  I've  lost  all  my  old 
friends,  and  I  can't  show  myself  anywhere  any 
more." 

The  crowd  had  to  tramp  a  good  mile  and  a 
half  before  they  reached  a  farmhouse  where 
they  could  procure  a  team  and  a  sleigh  big 
enough  to  take  all  of  them  to  Oak  Run.  Then 
they  set  off  at  a  fast  pace  and  at  about  supper 
time  reached  the  Rover  farm. 

Those  at  the  farm  were  much  astonished  at  the 
"game  brought  in,"  as  Anderson  Rover  declared. 
The  boys  waited  long  enough  to  get  a  meal,  and 
gave  the  prisoner  something  to  eat,  and  then  they, 
set  off  for  Oak  Run  with  their  father  and 
Dangler.  Here  the  freight  thief  was  placed  in 
the  custody  of  the  local  constable,  who  locked  the 
man  up  in  the  garret  of  his  own  home. 


CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  FARM  195 

That  night  and  the  next  day  the  telegraph  and 
telephone  were  kept  busy,  and  some  officers  of 
the  law  from  Ithaca  visited  the  old  Sobber  home 
stead.  They  found  the  place  deserted  and  no 
trace  of  Merrick,  Pike  or  Tad  Sobber  was  to  be 
found. 

"It  is  too  bad,"  declared  Dick,  when  the  news 
came  in.  "I  thought  sure  we'd  round  up  the 
rascals." 

From  the  authorities  the  boys  learned  one  thing 
— that  the  Sobber  homestead  was  on  the  same 
road  that  ran  past  the  Stanhope  cottage. 

"That  may  account  for  Merrick  coming  and 
looking  in  the  window  that  night,"  said  Dick. 
"Maybe  he  was  traveling  past  and  wanted  to  see 
what  was  going  on." 

"More  than  likely  he  was  looking  for  a  chance 
to  rob  the  place,"  was  Tom's  grim  comment. 

On  Christmas  day  the  boys  received  a  number 
of  valuable  presents  and  gave  everybody  presents 
in  return.  There  was  a  grand  family  dinner, 
such  as  only  their  aunt  Martha  could  prepare, 
i  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  all  did  full  justice  to 
the  spread.  After  dinner  the  lads  went  out  snow 
balling  and  got  Aleck  Pop  and  Jack  Ness  to  do 
the  same.  The  boys  snowballed  the  colored  man 
and  Jack  Ness  so  vigorously  that  the  pair  had 
to  run  for  the  barn. 

"My  sakes  alibe,  boys !"  cried  Aleck  Pop,  after 


196  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

he  had  received  a  snowball  in  the  ear.  "Yo"  dun 
work  yo'  snowballs  lik  da  was  comin'  from  a  Gat- 
ling  gun!" 

During  the  week  between  Christmas  and  New 
Year,  Bill  Dangler  was  removed  to  the  county 
jail,  there  to  await  the  action  of  the  grand  jury. 
In  the  meantime  the  authorities  continued  the 
hunt  for  Merrick,  Pike  and  the  others,  but  with 
out  success. 

"I'd  really  like  to  know  what  has  become  of 
Tad  Sobber,"  remarked  Dick.  "It  is  a  pity  if  he 
is  dependent  upon  such  a  fellow  as  Merrick  for 
his  support" 

"Perhaps  his  mother  left  him  money,"  said 
Tom. 

At  last  came  the  day  when  the  boys  returned 
to  Putnam  Hall.  On  the  train  they  fell  in  with 
Larry  Colby  and  George  Granbury,  and  told  of 
what  they  had  learned. 

"I  heard  from  Nick  Pell  yesterday,"  said 
Larry.  "He  is  getting  better  gradually,  but  it 
will  be  some  time  before  he  is  himself  again." 

"Does  he  still  blame  Tad  Sobber?" 

"Yes,  and  he  says  he  will  never  have  anything* 
to  do  with  Sobber  again." 

"Nobody  can  blame  him  for  that,"  said  Sam. 

"I  don't  believe  Sobber  will  ever  return  to  Put 
nam  Hall,"  came  from  Tom.  "Especially  when 


CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  FARM 


197 


he  finds  out  that  we  know  he  is  the  nephew  of 
such  a  swindler  as  Merrick." 

In  a  few  days  the  boys  settled  down  again  to 
their  studies.  The  Rovers  were  exceedingly 
anxious  to  make  records  for  themselves,  and 
whenever  a  lesson  was  too  hard  for  Tom  or  Sam, 
Dick  helped  them  all  he  could.  The  eldest  Rover 
boy  was  sorry  he  had  missed  his  former  position 
by  being  absent,  but  he  was  delighted  to  know 
that  he  and  his  brothers  would  now  finish  their 
schooling  at  Putnam  Hall  together. 

"I  couldn't  bear  to  think  of  being  separated 
from  you,"  he  said  to  Tom  and  Sam. 

"We  don't  want  to  be  separated,"  returntJ 
Tom. 

"That's  the  talk!"  declared  Sam.  'We'll  stick 
together  always!" 

About  a  week  after  the  return  to  school  the 
snow  cleared  away  and  then  came  a  cold  snap 
that   made   excellent   skating.      At  once   all   the 
boys  got  out  their  skates,  and  during  their  off 
*  hours  they  had  great  fun  on  the  lake. 
"'    One  afternoon  a  race  was  arranged  between 
half  a  dozen  boys,  including  Dick,  Larry  Colby 
and  Peter  Slade.     Slade  was  sure  he  would  win, 
and  went  around  boasting  of  it. 

"I  have  been  in  six  races  on  skates,"  he  de 
clared,  "and  I  won  every  me  of  them." 


198  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"He  must  be  a  famous  skater,"  said  Tom, 
when  he  learned  of  this.  "Dick,  I  don't  think 
you'll  stand  much  show  against  him." 

"I  don't  know.  Do  you  know  what  I  think  of 
Peter  Slade?  I  think  he  is  a  big  blower." 

"I  think  that  myself.  Still,  if  he  has  won  six 
races  he  must  know  something  about  racing." 

"Well,  if  I  lose  I  shan't  cry  over  it,"  said  Dick, 
and  there  the  talk  ended. 

The  race  was  to  be  for  two  miles, — a  mile  up 
the  lake  shore  and  a  mile  back.  At  the  appointed 
hour  the  contestants  lined  up,  and  at  a  word  from 
George  Strong,  who  had  consented  to  start  them, 
they  were  off. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  Peter  Slade  was  a  good 
skater,  and  with  hardly  an  effort  he  went  to  the 
front  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  race.  But 
then  Larry  and  Dick  began  to  push  him,  and 
when  the  mile  turn  was  made  Larry  was  but  two 
yards  in  the  rear,  with  Dick  almost  on  his  heels. 

"Go  it,  Slade,  you  can  win  easily !" 

"Catch  him,  Larry!" 

"Put  on  more  steam,  Dick!"  yelled  Tom,  en 
thusiastically. 

And  then  the  turning  point  was  passed  by  all 
the  racers  and  the  struggle  on  the  homestretch 
commenced. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

THE  SKATING  RACE 

FOR  nearly  half  a  mile  Peter  Slade  kept  the 
lead  with  ease,  but  then  his  breath  began  to  fail 
him.  Looking  over  his  shoulder,  he  saw  both 
Larry  and  Dick  crawling  up. 

"No,  you  don't!"  he  muttered,  and  put  on  a 
fresh  burst  of  speed  that  increased  his  lead  by 
two  yards. 

"Peter  Slade  is  going  to  win!" 

"See  how  he  is  running  away  from  the  others !" 

So  the  cries  arose  and  it  certainly  looked  as  if 
the  youth  mentioned  could  not  possibly  be  de 
feated. 

But  now  both  Larry  and  Dick  "dug  in  for  all 
they  were  worth,"  as  they  themselves  expressed 
it.  While  there  was  yet  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
be  covered  Dick  made  a  spurt  and  ranged  up 
alongside  of  his  chum. 

"Sorry,  but  I've  got  to  go  ahead!"  he  (ried, 
gaily. 

"Come  on,  we'll  both  go!"  yelled  Larry   good 

199 


200  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

naturedly,  and  then  the  pair  put  on  a  fresh  effort 
and  in  a  moment  ranged  up  on  either  side  of  Peter 
Slade. 

"Hullo,  they  are  in  a  line!" 

"There  goes  Larry  Colby  ahead!" 

"Dick  Rover  is  'going  with  him!" 

"Say,  but  that  is  skating,  eh?  Just  look  at 
Dick  strike  out!" 

"Sandwick  is  coming  up,  too!" 

"And  so  is  Marley!" 

The  last  reports  were  true.  The  fourth  and 
fifth  boy  were  now  directly  behind  Slade.  As 
Dick  and  Larry  shot  ahead,  still  side  by  side, 
Sandwick  overtook  Slade  and  so  did  Marley.  In 
the  meantime  the  sixth  boy  had  lost  a  skate  and 
dropped  out. 

With  a  final  desperate  effort  Peter  Slade  tried 
to  gain  first  place.  But  his  wind  was  gone  and 
his  strength  also,  and  he  dropped  back  further 
and  further. 

"Hurrah,  here  they  come !" 

"It's  a  tie  race  between  Dick  and  Larry !" 

"Marley  is  third!" 

"Yes,  and  Sandwick  fourth." 

"Peter  Slade  is  fifth." 

"Humph!  And  Peter  said  he  was  bound  to 
win!" 

Then  over  the  line  shot  the  skaters,  Dick  and 
Larry  side  by  side  and  laughing  merrily.  As 


THE  SKATING  RACE  2OI 

soon  as  the  race  was  ended  they  locked  arms  to 
show  their  good  feeling.  Then  Marley  came  in 
with  Sandwick  at  his  heels.  In  deep  disgust 
Peter  Slade  refused  to  finish,  but  circled  to  one 
side  and  hurried  to  the  boathouse,  there  to  take 
off  his  skates  and  disappear. 

"It  was  a  well-skated  race,"  declared  George 
Strong.  Then  he  asked  Dick  and  Larry  if  they 
wanted  to  skate  off  the  tie. 

"We  won't  bother,"  said  Dick,  after  consult 
ing  his  chum.  "We  are  satisfied  to  let  it  stand  as 
it  is,  considering  that  there  was  no  prize  to  be 
awarded." 

The  fact  that  he  had  lost  the  skating  race 
made  Peter  Slade  more  sour  than  ever,  and  after 
that,  whenever  he  met  Dick,  he  glared  at  the 
eldest  Rover  boy  defiantly. 

"He  acts  as  if  he  had  a  personal  grudge 
against  me,"  said  Dick  to  his  brothers. 

"Well,  he  acts  that  way  to  me,  too,"  answered 
Tom. 

"He  ought  to  have  his  head  punched  well," 
was  Sam's  comment. 

Peter  Slade  did  not  seem  to  care  chat  Larry  \ 
had  beaten  him — his  enmity  was  directed  mainly 
at  Dick. 

Slade  was  in  one  of  the  lower  classes,  but  one 
day  one  of  the  teachers  announced  a  lecture  on 
the  battleships  of  the  American  navy,  and  a  large 


202  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

number  of  boys  came  in  to  listen  and  to  take 
notes. 

In  the  midst  of  the  lecture  Dick  had  occasion 
to  pass  down  one  of  the  aisles.  As  he  went  by 
Peter  Slade  the  latter  put  out  his  hand  and  hit 
him  in  the  knee.  Blade's  hand  had  ink  on  it  and 
the  ink  went  on  Dick's  clean  uniform. 

"What  did  you  do  that  for?"  demanded  Dick, 
halting. 

"Shut  up!"  whispersd  Slade,  uglily. 

"I've  a  good  mind  to  box  your  ears,"  went  on 
Dick. 

"Will  you?"  roared  the  bully,  leaping  up. 
"Just  try  it!"  And  so  speaking  he  made  a  pass 
at  Dick's  head- 

The  blow  landed  oiv  Dick's  shoulder,  leaving  an 
ink  mark  behind  it.  The  eldest  Rover  boy  had 
leaped  to  one  side.  But  now  he  leaped  forward, 
and  a  well-directed  blow  from  his  fist  sent  Slade 
reeling  backward  over  a  desk. 

"Stop  that!"  cried  the  teacher,  in  alarm,  and 
brought  his  lecture  to  an  abrupt  end. 

"A  fight !  A  fight !"  cried  several  of  the  boys, 
,and  left  their  seats  to  surround  Dick  and  the 
bully. 

Slade  was  dazed  for  a  moment,  but  on  recov 
ering  he  sprang  at  Dick  and  tried  to  force  him  to 
th3  floor.  Around  and  around  went  the  pair. 


THE  SKATING  RACE  203 

bumping  against  the  desks  and  sending  some 
books  to  the  floor.  The  teacher  tried  to  get  at 
them,  but  before  he  could  do  so  they  had  sep 
arated.  Then  Dick  hit  Slade  a  telling  blow  in  the 
left  eye  which  caused  the  bully  to  fall  into  aj 
nearby  seat. 

"Stop,  this  instant!"  cried  the  teacher,  and 
then  turning  to  some  of  the  boys  added :  "Sum 
mon  Captain  Putnam  at  once." 

The  room  was  in  an  uproar,  and  many  wanted 
Dick  and  Slade  to  continue  the  battle.  But  the 
punch  in  the  eye  had  taken  away  the  bully's  cour 
age  and  he  did  not  get  up  to  continue  the  contest. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  demanded  Captain 
Putnam,  as  he  came  in,  and  he  faced  Dick  and 
Slade  sternly. 

"It  means  that  that  fellow  ought  to  have  a  good 
thrashing,  sir,"  answered  Dick,  boldly,  and 
pointed  at  the  bully. 

"It's  his  fault,  it  ain't  mine,"  put  in  Peter 
Slade,  hastily.  "He  started  it." 

"That  is  not  true,  Captain  Putnam.  I  was 
passing  his  seat  when  he  reached  out  and  smeared 
ink  on  my  knee,"  and  Dick  pointed  down  to  his 
soiled  trousers.  "I  wasn't  going  to  stand  for 
that  and  told  him  so.  Then  he  jumped  up  and  hit 
me  in  the  shoulder,  leaving  more  ink  on  me. 
After  that  I  hit  him." 


' 


204  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"It  ain't  so!"  roared  Peter  Slade. 

"That's  the  truth,"  said  several.  "Peter's 
hand  is  full  of  ink." 

"He  knocked  over  an  inkwell  just  before  Dick 
came  along,"  said  Fred.  "I  saw  him  do  it." 

"So  did  I,"  added  Songbird. 

"Did  you  see  it?"  questioned  Captain  Putnam 
of  the  instructor. 

"I  saw  nothing  until  the  boys  were  fighting  in 
the  aisle,"  answered  the  teacher  who  had  been 
delivering  the  lecture. 

"Captain  Putnam,  I  am  sure  Dick  Rover  is 
not  to  blame,"  said  a  very  quiet  student  named 
Rames.  "Slade  put  the  ink  on  Rover  and  struck 
•  the  first  blow — of  that  I  am  positive." 

"It  was  my  inkwell  he  knocked  over,"  came 
from  another  lad.  "I  told  him  to  leave  it  alone, 
but  he  wouldn't  mind  me." 

"OK,  you  are  all  against  me!"  roared  Peter 
Slade. 

"Evidently  you  are  guilty,"  said  the  master  of 
the  Hall,  sternly.  "I  want  both  you  and  Richard 
Rover  to  come  to  my  office.  Rames,  you  can 
come,  too,  and  you  also,  Brocton." 

In  the  office  a  thorough  investigation  was  held. 
Several  other  cadets  were  called  upon  to  testify, 
and  it  was  proved  that  Peter  Slade  was  entirely 
to  blame  for  what  had  occurred. 

"You  should  not  have  attacked  him,  Richard," 


THE  SKATING  RACE  205 

said  the  captain  to  Dick.     "But  under  the  cir 
cumstances  I  cannot  blame  you.    You  may  go." 

For  his  misconduct  Peter  Slade  was  confined 
in  the  "guardhouse"  for  three  days.  The  black 
eye  Dick  had  given  him  did  not  go  away  very 
fast  and  when  he  came  out  and  resumed  his  placed 
among  the  students  he  was  a  sight  to  behold.  That 
he  was  very  angry  at  the  eldest  Rover  boy  5 
easily  imagined. 

"I'll  fix  him  some  day,"  he  muttered. 

"Dick,  you  want  to  watch  Slade,"  said  Tom, 
one  day,  on  passing  the  bully  in  the  hallway. 

"I  guess  you  had  better  watch  him  yourself, 
Tom." 

"I  am  going  to  do  that,  don't  fear.  What  did 
the  captain  do  about  your  mussed-up  uniform?" 

"Made  Slade  pay  for  having  it  cleaned." 

"Did  he  do  it?" 

"He  had  to  do  it — Captain  Putnam  put  it  on 
the  bill  to  his  folks." 

"That  was  right." 

"Of  course  it  was.  But  I  understand  it  made 
Slade  as  mad  as  hops.  Oh,  he  surely  has  it  in  for' 
us,"  went  on  Dick,  and  there  the  subject  was 
dropped 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

ON  THE 


ALMOST  before  the  boys  knew  it  winter  was 
gone  and  spring  was  at  hand.  The  ice  on  the 
lake  disappeared  like  magic,  and  the  hills  back  of 
Putnam  Hall  took  on  a  fresh  greenness  pleasant 
to  behold. 

With  the  coming  of  warm  weather  the  cadets 
spent  a  large  part  of  their  off  time  outdoors. 
Some  took  up  rowing,  and  among  the  number 
were  Sam  and  Tom.  Larry  Colby  had  become 
the  owner  of  a  fair-sized  sloop,  and  he  frequently 
took  some  of  his  chums  out  for  a  cruise  up  or 
down  the  lake. 

"Do  you  know  what  I'd  like  to  do  ?"  said  Dick 
one  day.  "I'd  like  to  visit  that  old  Sobber  home 
stead  and  see  how  it  looks." 

"I've  often  thought  of  that,"  answered  Sam. 
"Wonder  how  we  can  manage  it?" 

The  matter  was  talked  over  in  Larry's  pres 
ence,  and  the  cadet  who  owned  the  sloop  said 
they  might  make  the  trip  in  that  craft,  provided 
the  master  of  Putnam  Hall  would  give  them  the 
desired  permission. 

206 


ON  THE  LAKE  207 

"We'll  ask  Captain  Putnam  at  once,"  declared 
Dick. 

Permission  was  granted  to  leave  Putnam  Hall 
early  on  the  following  Saturday  morning,  pro 
vided  the  weather  was  clear,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  the  party  should  consist  of  the  three  Rover 
boys,  Larry,  Fred  and  Songbird.  The  captain 
said  he  preferred  that  they  come  back  Saturday 
night,  but  they  could  remain  away  over  Sunday 
if  they  found  it  necessary. 

"Do  you  think  we'll  get  any  clew  to  Merrick 
and  Tad  Sobber?"  asked  Dick,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"Possibly,"  answered  Captain  Putnam,  smiling 
back.  "You  Rovers  are  great  chaps  for  finding 
out  things." 

The  sloop  was  provided  with  a  tiny  cuddy,  or 
cabin,  and  in  this  the  boys  placed  a  small  stock  of 
provisions  and  also  a  shotgun  and  some  fishing 
lines.  They  left  the  Hall  after  breakfast  and 
were  glad  of  the  promise  of  a  warm  day,  with 
the  breeze  in  just  the  right  direction. 

"You  fellows  will  have  to  tell  me  where  to 
steer  the  sloop  to,"  said  Larry,  after  the  mainsail 
had  been  run  up.  "I  don't  know  where  that  old 
house  is." 

"We  have  a  general  idea  where  it  is,"  answered 
Dick.  "Of  course  we  may  have  some  trouble 
finding  it.  But  if  we  get  mixed  up,  we  can  go 
ashore  and  ask  the  folks  living  in  that  vicinity." 


208  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

The  distance  to  be  covered  along  the  lake  shore 
was  in  the  neighborhood  of  twelve  miles,  so  the 
boys  had  quite  a  sail  before  them.  They  took 
turns  at  steering,  and  said  they  liked  the  sloop 
very  much. 

About  four  miles  had  been  covered  when  the 
breeze  began  to  die  away.  This  was  exasperat 
ing,  but  could  not  be  helped,  so  the  boys  made  the 
best  of  it.  As  the  sloop  drifted  along  they  got 
out  some  fishing  tackle,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
Sam  brought  up  a  fair-sized  fish,  of  which  he 
felt  quite  proud. 

"At  this  rate  it  will  take  us  till  night  to  reach 
that  old  house,"  remarked  Dick,  after  they  had 
been  fishing  half  an  hour.  "It  is  too  bad!  I 
thought  we'd  get  there  by  noon  when  we  started, 
even  if  the  breeze  did  go  down." 

"Oh,  I  think  the  breeze  will  start  up  again  be 
fore  long,"  said  Tom  hopefully.  "Let  us  enjoy 
this  fishing  while  we  have  the  chance,"  he  added, 
having  just  pulled  in  a  real  piscatorial  prize. 

By  noon  they  had  a  good  mess  of  fish  to  their 
•credit,  and  then  Sam  proposed  that  they  go 
ashore  and  build  a  fire  and  cook  some  for  dinner. 

"There  is  no  use  of  mourning  over  the  wind," 
said  he. 

"If  it  wasn't  for  the  sloop  we  might  tramp  to 
the  old  house,"  returned  Dick. 

"I  shouldn't  wish  to  leave  my  boat  just  any- 


ON  THE  LAKE 


209 


where,"  said  Larry.  "Somebody  might  run  off 
with  her, — and  she  cost  quite  some  money." 

"You  might  leave  her  in  care  of  some  farmer 
along  here,"  suggested  Songbird,  and  then  he 
idded  softly: 

"For  what  is  a  boat  without  a  breeze? 
It's  like  a  forest  minus  its  trees. 
It's  like  a  table  without  a  leg, " 

"Or  a  big  blue  top  without  its  peg!" 

finished  Tom.  "But  I  move  we  camp  and  cook 
fish,"  he  continued.  "We  can  have  a  dandy  meal, 
along  with  the  stuff  we  brought  alorrg." 

The  idea  of  going  ashore  prevailed,  and  soon 
they  had  tied  up  the  sloop  and  lowered  the  main 
sail.  Brushwood  was  handy,  and  having  started 
a  fire  they  cleaned  some  of  the  fish  and  set  it  to 
broiling.  They  had  a  pot  along  in  which  they 
made  coffee,  and  they  also  brought  out  some 
bread  and  crackers,  cake,  and  some  fruit.  They 
had  some  meat  with  them,  but  left  that  for  possi 
ble  future  use. 

The  cadets  took  their  time  over  the  meal,  and 
it  was  not  until  two  o'clock  that  they  again 
boarded  the  Polly,  as  Larry  had  named  his  craft. 

"I  think  the  breeze  is  coming  again,"  cried 
Dick,  holding  up  his  hand. 

"Let  it  come!"  was  the  cry,  and  as  the  wind 


210  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

freshened  all  felt  much  better.  Soon  the  Polly 
was  bowling  over  the  lake  as  speedily  as  when 
they  had  first  started. 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think?"  said  Songbird, 
who  stood  at  the  stern  looking  toward  the  dis 
tant  hills.  "I  think  we  are  going  to  have  more 
wind  than  we'll  want  before  night." 

"Do  you  think  a  big  blow  is  coming?"  ques 
tioned  Fred. 

"It  looks  that  way  to  me.  Do  you  see  those 
dark  clouds  just  beginning  to  show  themselves 
yonder  ?" 

"Well,  I  shan't  mind  a  little  blow,"  said  Dick. 
"In  fact,  I  think  I'd  rather  like  the  excitement." 
And  the  others  said  the  same. 

They  were  still  about  two  miles  from  the  spot 
where  they  supposed  the  old  house  was  located, 
when  it  suddenly  grew  darker  and  the  breeze 
freshened  greatly.  Then  came  a  puff  of  air  that 
sent  the  Polly  far  over  on  her  side. 

"Hi!  this  won't  do!"  cried  Fred,  in  alarm. 
"We  don't  want  to  upset !" 

"Maybe  we  had  better  take  in  some  sail,"  added 
Songbird  nervously. 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  there  came  an 
other  puff  of  wind  that  made  all  cling  fast  to  the 
deck  to  keep  from  being  pitched  overboard.  The 
sky  was  now  very  dark,  and  there  were  a  few 
flakes  of  snow  in  the  air. 


ON  THE  LAKE  2II 

"It's  a  spring  snowsquall,  that's  what  it  is," 
announced  Dick.  "I  don't  think  it  will  last  over 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes." 

"It's  too  much  for  the  Polly,"  came  from 
Larry.  "Put  down  the  mainsail,  will  you?" 

Several  sprang  to  do  as  requested,  and  hardly 
had  the  sheet  been  lowered  and  stowed  away 
when  there  came  a  fierce  gust  that  drove  them 
well  in  shore. 

"There  is  a  cove — we  can  go  in  there  for  shel 
ter!"  cried  Sam,  and  the  sloop  was  steered  ac 
cordingly.  The  cove  was  well  protected  by  trees 
and  they  came  to  anchor  at  a  spot  that  looked 
particularly  inviting. 

The  boys  were  afraid  it  would  rain,  and  won 
dered  what  they  would  do  to  keep  from  getting 
wet,  since  the  cuddy  on  the  sloop  was  too  small  to 
hold  more  than  two  or  three  of  the  party.  But 
no  rain  came,  and  soon  the  flurry  of  snow  disap 
peared.  The  wind,  however,  instead  of  letting  up, 
blew  harder  than  ever. 

"I  am  glad  we  are  not  out  in  the  middle  of  the 
lake,"  observed  Fred.  "We'd  be  capsized  sure!" 

"This  is  certainly  getting  to  be  a  regular  gale," 
answered  Dick.  "And  the  worst  of  it  is,  there 
is  no  telling  how  long  it  is  going  to  last." 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait,  and  in 
order  to  keep  warm  the  cadets  put  up  a  bit  of 
sailcloth  on  the  deck  of  the  sloop  and  taking  in 


212  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

the  cuddy.  There  they  crouched,  and  told  stories 
and  talked  for  over  an  hour. 

"I  move  we  go  on,"  said  Tom,  at  last.  "The 
wind  isn't  quite  as  strong  as  it  was." 

Although  doubtful  of  the  wisdom  of  the  pro 
ceedings,  the  others  voted  to  proceed  and  they 
poled  their  way  out  of  the  cove.  Only  the  jib 
of  the  Polly  was  hoisted  and  this  sent  them 
bowling  along  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed. 

Dick  stood  in  the  bow  and  at  last  called  upon 
Larry  to  turn  the  sloop  toward  shore. 

"I  think  we  must  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
that  house  now,"  he  said.  "And  just  ahead  is  a 
fine  cove  where  the  sloop  will  be  as  well  sheltered 
as  it  was  at  the  other  cove." 

Accordingly  Larry  turned  the  Polly  in,  and  the 
other  lads  lowered  the  sail.  They  came  to  anchor 
between  a  number  of  tall  trees,  where  the  sloop 
was  almost  s.i ••..v.aed  from  sight 

Having  made  certain  the  boat  could  not  drift 
away,  the  six  boys,  led  by  Dick,  made  their  way 
along  the  shore  until  they  struck  something  of  a 
path.  Coming  to  a  slight  rise,  Dick  pointed  with 
his  hand. 

"Isn't  that  a  house,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
hill?"  he  asked. 

"Yes !"  cried  Tom.  "And  by  the  appearance  of 
it  I  should  say  it's  the  place  we  are  looking  for !" 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

AT  THE  OLD  HOUSE 

THE  Rover  boys  and  their  chums  approached 
the  old  house  with  a  good  deal  of  interest.  Dick 
led  the  way,  setting  a  pace  that  made  it  hard  for 
the  others  to  keep  up. 

"Don't  hurry  so,  Dick,"  remonstrated  Fred. 
"The  house  isn't  going  to  run  away." 

"Dick  wants  to  make  sure  if  that  Merrick  is 
around,"  responded  Songbird.  "And  I  can't 
blame  him." 

The  old  Sobber  homestead  was  surrounded  by 
a  grove  of  trees  equally  aged.  One  of  the  trees 
had  blown  down,  taking  a  corner  of  the  roof 
with  it.  Through  this  opening  the  birds  flitted. 

"I  don't  believe  a  soul  is  around,"  observed 
Tom,  as  they  halted  in  front  of  the  building. 

"Nothing  like  ringing  the  bell!"  cried  Sam, 
and  mounting  the  dilapidated  piazza  he  raised  the 
ancient  knocker  of  the  door  and  used  it  vigor 
ously.  Then  came  a  crash  and  the  youngest  Rover 
felt  the  piazza  bottom  give  way. 

"Look  out,  a  post  is  coming  down !"  cried  Dick, 

213 


214  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

warningly,  and  Sam  had  just  time  enough  to  leap 
away  when  the  corner  post  of  the  piazza  fell, 
allowing  the  roof  above  to  sag  several  inches. 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  the  whole  building  was  on 
the  verge  of  collapse,"  was  Songbird's  comment 

"Yes,  and  I  don't  know  whether  I  want  to  go 
in  or  not,"  added  Larry. 

"It  certainly  does  look  shaky,"  admitted  Dick. 
"I  don't  think  anybody  would  risk  staying  in  it 
long." 

Leaving  the  front,  they  walked  around  the  old 
house  and  gazed  through  several  of  the  broken- 
out  windows.  Inside  all  was  dirt  and  cobwebs, 
with  a  few  pieces  of  broken-down  furniture  scat 
tered  about.  As  he  looked  in  one  window  Tom 
saw  a  big  rat  scurry  across  the  floor. 

"I  guess  rats  are  the  only  tenants,"  he  said 
dryly.  "And  they  don't  pay  rent." 

"With  a  few  birds  on  the  top  floor,  front," 
added  Sam.  "Well,  do  we  go  in  or  not?" 

"I  am  going  in,"  declared  Dick,  and  pushed 
open  the  old  kitchen  door.  It  was  damp  and 
mouldy  in  the  apartment,  for  the  rain  had  soaked 
loose  much  of  the  plaster  and  caused  it  to  fall. 

The  big  open  fireplace  looked  grimy  and  for 
bidding  with  its  iron  bars  and  chains.  An  iron 
kettle  stood  on  the  chimney-piece,  a  crack  across 
the  bottom. 

"Somebody  has  had  a  fire  here  not  so  very  long 


AT  THE  OLD  HOUSE 


215 


ago !"  said  Dick,  and  picked  up  a  bit  of  half-burnt 
newspaper.  He  turned  it  over.  "Here  is  a  date. 
This  newspaper  is  only  four  days  old!" 

"Then  whoever  made  a  fire  here  visited  this 
house  within  the  past  four  days,"  said  Larry  in 
a  tragic  whisper. 

"Whoop!  just  listen  to  what  a  detective  Larry 
is  becoming!"  cried  Tom.  "Regular  Bowery 
Bob,  the  Newsboy  Sleuth !" 

"Perhaps  it  was  only  some  curiosity  seeker 
who  came  here,"  suggested  Fred. 

With  caution,  for  the  floors  were  very  rotten, 
the  cadets  moved  from  one  room  of  the  old  house 
to  another. 

"Anything  in  there?"  asked  Tom  of  Sam,  as 
the  latter  peered  into  a  room  that  was  extra  dark. 

"I  can't  make  out,"  was  the  answer,  and  Sam 
took  a  step  forward.  Then  of  a  sudden  there 
was  a  strange  whirring,  and  something  hit  the 
youngest  Rover  boy  on  the  ear,  causing  him  to 
fall  back  in  fright. 

"Stop  that!"  he  cried. 

"What  was  it?"  queried  Tom,  while  the  others 
came  running  to  the  spot. 

"Something  hit  me  on  the  ear !" 

"Anybody  in  there?" 

"There  must  be." 

"Come  out  of  that,  whoever  you  are!"  yelled 
Fred,  while  Dick  pointed  his  shotgun  at  the  door. 


2l6  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

There  was  no  answer,  but  a  second  later  came 
the  whirring  again,  and  then  a  big  bat  flew  into 
the  light,  just  grazing  Tom's  face. 

"A  bat!" 

"Let  it  go!"  said  Songbird,  and  then  the  bat 
flew  out  of  a  window  and  disappeared. 

"Oh !"  murmured  Sam,  and  breathed  a  sigh  of 
relief.  "I — I  thought  somebody  struck  at  me!" 

"I've  got  one  of  those  electric  pocket  lights 
ftlong,"  said  Tom.  "Let  me  use  that." 

He  turned  on  the  little  electric  lamp,  and  by  its 
i'ays  they  inspected  the  apartment.  It  was  a  bed 
room,  and  in  one  corner  was  an  old  bedstead  and 
on  it  a  musty  straw  mattress.  In  another  corner 
was  a  closet  containing  several  shelves. 

"Here  is  an  old  inkwell,"  said  Dick,  and 
brought  it  forth.  "And  here  are  the  remains  of 
a  box  of  writing  paper  and  envelopes." 

"Any  letters?"  asked  Fred. 

They  looked  around,  but  at  first  could  find  no 
writings  of  any  kind.  But  behind  one  of  the 
shelves,  in  a  crack,  they  discovered  several  sheets 
of  paper  and  took  these  to  the  light  to  read. 

"They  are  parts  of  letters  from  Mr.  Sobber  to 
his  wife,"  said  Dick.  "They  must  have  been 
written  by  Tad's  father." 

"He  speaks  here  of  Merrick,"  added  Tom,  who 
was  scanning  a  blurred  page.  "Merrick  is  Mrs. 
Sobber 's  brother  beyond  a  doubt." 


AT  THE  OLD  HOUSE 


217 


"From  these  letters  I  should  say  Mr.  Sobber 
had  been  off  on  a  sea  trip,"  continued  the  eldest 
Rover  boy.  "And  it  looks  to  me  as  if  he  had  been 
an  honest  man,  for  he  tells  his  wife  that  he  hope? 
Merrick  will  give  up  his  gambling  habits." 

From  the  bedroom  the  boys  entered  what  had 
been  the  parlor  of  the  house.  This  was  almost 
bare.  To  one  side  of  the  parlor  was  an  entry- 
way,  and  here  was  a  stairs  leading  to  the  second 
story  and  another  leading  to  the  cellar. 

"Well,  shall  we  go  up  or  down  ?"  queried  Dick. 

"Let  us  see  what  the  cellar  looks  like  first," 
answered  Sam.  "Perhaps  we'll  find  a  pot  of  gold 
there." 

"Or  a  few  skeletons,"  put  in  Tom. 

"Ugh!  don't  say  skeletons,"  cried  Songbird, 
with  a  shiver.  "I've  got  the  creeps  already!" 

"Look  out  that  you  don't  break  your  neck  on 
the  stairs,"  warned  Larry,  and  then  Dick  led  the 
way  down,  holding  the  light  before  him. 

If  it  was  damp  above  it  was  far  more  so  below, 
and  the  boys  shivered  in  spite  of  themselves.  The 
cellar  had  only  a  mud  bottom  and  this  was  cov 
ered  with  slime  and  mold.  There  was  little  there 
to  interest  them  outside  of  an  old  chest  which, 
when  they  pried  it  open,  proved  to  be  empty. 

"Listen!"  cried  Tom,  suddenly,  and  held  ug 
his  hand. 


2l8  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

"What  did  you  hear  ?"  demanded  several  of 
the  others. 

"I  thought  I  heard  somebody  walking  around 
upstairs.  There  it  is  again!" 

All  gave  attention,  and  heard  the  unmistakable 
sounds  of  footsteps  on  the  stairs  leading  to  the 
second  story. 

"Who  is  up  there?"  called  out  Dick,  and  turned 
to  leave  the  cellar,  followed  by  his  brothers  and 
chums. 

"Stay  where  you  are!"  came  back  in  a  harsh 
voice.  "Don't  any  of  you  dare  to  come  out  of 
that  cellar!" 

"It  is  Merrick !"  burst  out  Tom. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  they  heard  a  door 
shut  sharply  and  a  bolt  dropped  into  place.  Then 
the  footsteps  retreated. 

"He  has  shut  the  door  to  the  cellar!"  cried 
Dick,  flashing  the  light  upward.  "We  are  locked 
in!" 

"Hark!  I  heard  more  than  one  person  run 
ning  from  the  house,"  said  Larry. 

"That  Pike  must  be  with  him." 

"Or  else  Tad  Sobber." 

As  quickly  as  he  could,  Dick  ran  up  the  old 
stairs  and  tried  the  door.  It  was  in  fairly  good 
condition  and  refused  to  budge. 

"Smash  it  down!"  called  out  Tom,  and  went 
to  his  brother's  assistance. 


A'T  THE  OLD  HOUSE 


219 


"We  must  get  out  and  collar  those  rascals," 
said  Sam.  "Can't  you  get  the  door  open?" 

"We  ought  to  be  able  to,"   answered   Dick.  , 
"Here,  catch  the  light  and  take  the  gun." 

In  a  few  seconds  Dick,  Tom  and  Songbird' 
were  pressing  on  the  door  with  all  their  strength.  ' 
All  stood  on  the  top  step  of  the  cellar  stairs. 

"Now  then,  all  together !"  cried  Dick,  and  they 
shoved  with  might  and  main.  Then  came  a 
crack  below  them,  and  an  instant  later  the  cellar 
stairs  collapsed,  carrying  them  with  it.  As  they 
went  down  in  a  confused  heap  the  stairs  struck 
the  electric  light  and  smashed  it.  It  also  knocked 
the  shotgun  from  Sam's  hand. 

Bang!  went  the  firearm,  with  a  report  in  the 
narrow  confines  of  the  cellar  that  was  deafening. 

"I'm  killed!  I'm  killed!"  came  from  Larry, 
an  instant  later.  "You've  shot  my  hand  off !" 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

A  WRECK  AND  A  CAPTURE 

"GET  off  of  my  fingers!" 

"Please  let  me  get  out  of  this  hole !" 

"Say,  how  can  I  get  up  if  you're  going  t»  sit 
on  my  legs  ?" 

These  and  a  few  more  utterances  came  from 
the  boys  as  they  endeavored  to  clear  themselves 
of  the  wreckage  of  the  fallen  stairs.  The  small 
cellar  was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  shotgun, 
and  Larry  was  dancing  around  flipping  his  hurt 
hand  in  the  air.  All  was  pitch  dark,  for  the 
small  windows  were  covered  with  dirt  and  cob 
webs  to  such  a  depth  that  no  light  penetrated 
through  them. 

"Beware  of  that  gun!"  called  Dick,  when  he 
could  speak.  "Only  one  barrel  went  off,  remem 
ber." 

"Larry,  are  you  really  killed?"  questioned 
Sam,  who,  somehow,  felt  responsible,  since  the 
weapon  had  been  in  his  hands. 

"N — no,  but  I'm  hit  in  the  fingers,"  came  from 

220 


A  WRECK  AND  A  CAPTURE  221 

the  wounded  boy.  "The  shot  went  right  past  my 
head,  too!" 

"Make  a  light,  somebody,"  called  out  Fred. 
"Songbird,  you've  got  some  matches." 

The  poet  of  the  Hall  lit  a  match,  and  by  this 
faint  light  the  boys  first  of  all  looked  at  Larry's 
damaged  hand.  Fortunately  the  charge  of  shot 
had  merely  grazed  the  thumb  and  middle  ringer, 
and  it  was  found  that  Larry  was  more  fright 
ened  than  hurt.  The  hand  was  bound  up  in  a 
couple  of  handkerchiefs. 

"When  we  get  back  to  the  boat  you'll  want  to 
wash  the  wounds  well,"  said  Dick. 

Tom  had  picked  up  the  electric  pocket  light, 
but  found  he  could  not  make  it  work.  Again 
they  were  in  darkness  until  another  match  was 
lit. 

"We  can't  reach  that  door,  with  the  stairs 
down,"  was  Dick's  comment.  "Let  us  break  out 
a  window." 

This  was  easily  accomplished,  and  one  after 
another  the  cadets  crawled  forth  from  the  cellar. 
It  was  a  tight  squeeze,  especially  for  Fred,  who 
was  rather  large  at  the  waist  line. 

"I  guess  those  fellows  who  ran  away  thought 
we  couldn't  get  through  that  window,"  said  Song 
bird. 

"If  it  had  been  an  inch  smaller  I  should  have 
been  stuck,"  answered  Fred. 


222  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

They  looked  all  around  the  old  building,  but 
nobody  was  in  sight.  The  front  door  stood  wide 
open,  and  they  rightly  surmised  that  the  others 
had  taken  their  departure  that  way. 

"The  question  is,  Which  way  did  they  go?" 
came  from  Dick. 

"Do  you  think  they  went  on  foot  ?"  asked  Sam. 
"They  might  have  a  carriage." 

"Or  a  boat,"  added  Larry.  "Oh,  I  hope  we 
can  catch  them,  just  to  make  'em  pay  for  these 
hurt  fingers  of  mine!"  And  he  shut  his  teeth 
hard,  for  the  wounds  pained  him  not  a  little. 

"Larry,  I  trust  you  don't  think  it  was  my 
fault,"  observed  Sam. 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,  Sam.  It  was  simply  an  acci 
dent,  that's  all.  I  am  glad  those  on  the  stairs 
didn't  hurt  themselves." 

"Well,  my  knee  doesn't  feel  any  too  good," 
came  from  Tom.  "I  guess  I  scratched  it  quite 
some." 

"Shall  we  try  to  find  those  fellows  first  or  go 
upstairs  and  look  around?"  asked  Son>eu:-r!. 

"Let  us  try  to  find  them  first,"  said  Dkk.  "We 
Can  come  back  here  any  time." 

"I  have  a  plan,"  said  Tom.  "Let  us  scatter 
in  all  directions.  If  anybody  sees  anything  of 
them,  give  the  school  whistle." 

"Good!  that's  the  talk!"  exclaimed  Sam.  "The 
sooner  the  better." 


A  WRECK  AND  A  CAPTURE 


223 


In  a  minute  more  the  six  cadets  were  hunting 
in  as  many  different  directions  for  those  they 
were  after.  Larry,  Songbird  and  Fred  took  to  the 
lake  shore,  while  the  three  Rover  boys  went  up 
and  down  the  roadway  and  into  the  woods  be 
yond. 

Nearly  half  an  hour  was  spent  in  the  search 
when  the  other  lads  heard  a  whistle  from  the 
lake  shore.  The  signal  came  from  Larry,  and 
was  repeated  several  times. 

"He  wants  us  in  a  hurry,"  said  Sam  to  Dick, 
when  they  met,  and  started  on  a  run.  They  met 
Larry  coming  towards  them,  beckoning  wildly. 

"Hurry  up!"  he  called. 

"What's  up?"  asked  Dick. 

"They  just  went  past  in  a  sailboat  and  they  are 
bound  across  the  lake." 

"The  two  men?"  asked  Sam, 

"Yes,  and  Tad  Sobber,  too." 

"Tad!" 

"Yes.  Their  boat  couldn't  have  been  very  far 
from  mine.  I  saw  the  two  men  get  on  board  and 
then  Tad  came  from  a  cabin,  and  all  three  hoisted 
the  sails  as  quickly  as  they  could  and  stood  over 
in  the  direction  of  the  point  with  the  three  rocks 
— you  remember  the  spot?" 

"I  do — the  place  we  once  went  nutting,"  said 
Dick. 

By  this  time  the  other  cadets  were  coming  up, 


224  ROVER  BOYS   ON   THE  FARM 

and  they  listened  with  keen  interest  to  what  Larry 
had  to  tell.  In  the  meantime  all  ran  to  the  Polly, 
and  the  sloop  was  poled  out  of  the  cove  and  the 
mainsail  and  jib  were  hoisted.  As  Larry  was  in 
no  condition  to  steer,  Dick  took  the  tiller. 

"They  will  get  away  if  they  possibly  can,"  ob 
served  Songbird.  "Do  you  think,  if  we  get  too 
close  to  them,  they'll  fire  at  us,  or  anything  like 
that?" 

"There  is  no  telling,"  answered  Dick.  "But  I 
am  going  to  load  up  that  empty  barrel  of  the  shot 
gun,  and  if  they  dare  to  shoot  I'll  shoot  back," 
he  added,  with  determination. 

The  other  boat  was  in  sight,  but  a  good  half 
mile  away,  and  it  was  a  serious  question  whether 
the  Polly  could  get  anywhere  near  the  craft  be 
fore  the  point  with  the  three  rocks  was  gained. 

"Well,  if  they  go  ashore  we  can  capture  the 
boat  anyway,"  observed  Sam.  "That  will  be 
something." 

"Probably  the  boat  was  only  hired.  The  owner 
may  not  know  what  rascals  those  chaps  are." 

"The  craft  looked  old  and  clumsy  to  me,"  said 
Larry.  "If  you  sail  the  Polly  with  care  perhaps 
you  can  catch  her — if  they  don't  play  us  some 
trick." 

The  chase  was  now  on  in  earnest,  and  the  ca 
dets  on  board  the  sloop  did  all  in  their  power  to 


A  WRECK  AND  A  CAPTURE  225 

make  speed.  There  was  a  fair  breeze,  the  gale 
having  gone  down  while  they  were  at  the  house. 

"I  don't  think  they  know  much  about  running  a 
boat,"  said  Tom,  presently.  "What  are  they  up 
.  to  now  ?" 

"They  are  turning  back!"  cried  Sam.  "See, 
they  are  headed  for  yonder  cove.  They  are  not 
going  up  to  the  three  rocks." 

"What  cove  is  that?"  asked  Songbird.  "Is  it 
the  place  we  went  fishing  the  day  we  caught  the 
turtle?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  they  had  better  look  out?  Don't  you 
remember  those  sharp  rocks,  right  near  the  mouth 
of  the  cove?" 

Those  who  had  been  fishing  the  day  mentioned 
did  remember  the  rocks,  and  they  watched  the 
boat  ahead  with  keen  interest.  The  wind  had 
freshened  a  little  and  the  craft  had  swung  around 
swiftly  and  was  rushing  for  the  cove.  They  could 
see  one  of  the  men  trying  to  lower  the  mainsail. 

"They  are  in  dangerous  water!"  cried  Dick. 

He  had  just  uttered  the  words  when  they  saw 
the  boat  strike  something,  shiver  from  stem  to 
,  stern,  and  back  away.  Then  she  went  ahead  and 
struck  a  second  time.  A  second  later  she  went 
over  to  larboard,  throwing  the  two  men  and  Tad 
Sobber  into  the  lake! 


226  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

"They've  struck  the  rocks !" 

"The  boat  is  sinking!" 

"They  are  all  in  the  water !" 

"Lower  the  mainsail !"  yelled  Larry.  "We 
don't  want  to  get  caught  on  the  rocks !  Sheer  off 
Pick!" 

Dick  swung  the  tiller  around,  and  in  a  few  sec 
onds  the  mainsail  came  down  with  a  bang  and 
was  secured  by  the  others.  The  jib  was  still  up, 
and  this  drew  just  sufficiently  to  send  them  for 
ward  slowly,  to  the  spot  where  the  catastrophe 
had  occurred. 

They  found  Pike  floundering  around  in  the 
water,  yelling  lustily  for  aid.  Sid  Merrick  and 
Tad  Sobber  had  struck  out  for  the  nearest  part 
of  the  shore,  about  two  hundred  feet  away. 

"Here,  catch  hold  of  this  and  I'll  pull  you  up," 
said  Tom,  reaching  down  to  Pike  with  a  pole. 
The  floundering  vnan  did  as  told  willingly,  and 
was  quickly  hauled  to  the  deck.  Then  the  Polly 
was  turned  toward  the  shore  and  the  jib  was 
lowered. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  bring  the  sloop  in,  for 
they  had  to  beware  of  the  rocks,  and  by  the  time1 
this  was  accomplished  Sid  Merrick  and  Tad  Sob 
ber  had  landed  and  were  running  for  the  woods 
with  all  possible  speed.  Dick  raised  his  shotgun 
and  fired  to  scare  them,  but  they  kept  on,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  disappeared  from  sight. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM 


LEAVING  John  Pike  in  charge  of  the  other  s,  the 
three  Rover  boys  set  off  after  Sobber  and  Mer- 
rick.  They  followed  the  trail  for  awhile  with 
ease,  for  the  fugitives  were  dripping  wet  from 
their  involuntary  bath. 

"We  have  one  advantage/'  said  Dick,  as  they 
ran  along.  "Being  wet  they  will  attract  atten 
tion,  and  we'll  be  able  to  follow  them  up  that 
way." 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  was  covered  when 
they  heard  a  crashing  in  the  brushwood  not  far 
ahead  of  them.  Then  came  a  yell  of  pain  from 
both  Merrick  and  Tad  Sobber. 

"Ouch  !    I'm  being  stung  to  death  !" 

"Get  off  of  me!    Oh!  oh!  oh!" 

"They  are  hornets,  Tad!  Run,  or  they'll  be 
after  us  !" 

"I  —  I  can't  run!  Oh!  one  stung  me  in  the 
eye!"  screamed  Tad  Sobber. 

Then  the  Rover  boys  heard  the  man  and  the 
227 


228  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

boy  plunge  on,  Tad  screaming  with  pain  at  every 
step. 

"Wait!  we  can't  go  that  way!"  cried  Tom,  who 
had  no  desire  to  tumble  into  the  hornets'  nest  as 
the  others  had  probably  done.  "Let's  go  around !" 
And  he  leaped  to  the  left. 

As  they  progressed  they  heard  Tad  Sobber  still 
crying  wildly,  and  they  heard  Sid  Merrick  urg 
ing  him  to  run  faster. 

"I'm  stung,  too — in  about  a  dozen  places!" 
said  the  bond  thief.  "But  we  mustn't  be  cap 
tured." 

"Oh,  it  is  awful !"  groaned  Tad.  "I  can  hardly 
bear  the  pain!"  And  he  went  on,  clutching  his 
uncle  by  the  arm.  Both  were  indeed  in  a  sorry 
plight. 

But  coming  out  on  a  road,  fortune  favored 
them.  They  met  a  colored  man  running  a  touring 
car.  He  was  alone  and  they  quickly  hired  him  to 
take  them  to  the  nearest  town. 

"We  fell  into  the  lake  by  accident,"  said  Sid 
Merrick.  "We  want  to  get  where  we  can  change 
our  clothing." 

"And  get  something  for  these  hornet  stings," 
added  Tad  Sobber.  "If  I  don't  get  something 
soon  I'll  go  crazy  from  pain." 

As  the  three  Rover  boys  ran  towards  the  road 
way  Dick  saw  a  big,  flat  pocketbook  lying  on  the 
ground.  He  darted  for  it  and  picked  it  up. 


GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM  HALL 


229 


"Merrick  must  have  dropped  this,"  he  said. 
"It's  wet,  and  here  is  a  dead  hormet  stuck  fast 
to  it.  Guess  the  hornets  made  him  forget  that  he 
had  it." 

,  Slipping  the  pocketbook  into  his  pocket,  Dick 
ran  out  on  the  roadway  and  looked  up  and  down. 
But  Merrick  and  Sobber  were  gone,  and  what  had 
become  of  them  the  boys  did  not  learn  until  the 
next  day,  and  then  it  was  too  late. 

"What's  in  that  pocketbook?"  asked  Sam,  after 
the  hunt  had  come  to  an  end  for  the  time  being. 

"We'll  soon  learn,"  said  his  big  brother,  and 
opened  up  the  still  wet  leather.  Inside  were  sev 
eral  bank  bills  and  a  fat  envelope. 

"Uncle  Randolph's  missing  traction  company 
bonds!"  cried  Dick,  bringing  them  forth.  "This 
is  the  best  ever!" 

"Are  they  all  there?"  asked  Tom. 

Dick  counted  them  over  rapidly. 

"Yes — ten  for  one  thousand  dollars  each." 

"Hurrah !"  shouted  Sam.  "Won't  Uncle  Ran 
dolph  be  glad  when  he  hears  o£  this !" 

The  boys  were  highly  elated  over  the  find,  and 
now  they  had  the  bonds  they  concluded  that  a 
further  search  for  Sid  Merrick  could  wait.  They 
did  not  care  whether  Tad  Sobber  was  captured  or 
not,  as  they  did  not  think  the  bully  was  much  of 
a  criminal. 

When  they  got  back  to  the  sloop  they  found 


2io  ROVER  BOYS  ON   THE  FARM 

\J 

that  the  others  had  bound  John  Pike's  hands  be 
hind  him.  The  robber  was  very  meek,  and  he 
declared  that  Sid  Merrick  was  to  blame  for  every 
thing. 

"He  wanted  to  sell  the  bonds  many  times,'1 
said  Pike.  "But  he  knew  that  Mr.  Rover  had 
advertised  the  numbers  in  the  newspapers  and 
he  was  afraid  to  do  it.  He  said  he  would  wait 
until  the  affair  blew  over.  Then  he  was  going 
to  sell  out,  divide  up,  and  go  to  Europe." 

Pike  added  that  the  boat  had  belonged  to  him 
self.  She  was  an  old  craft  and  was  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  rocks.  It  came  out  later  that  Pike 
had  formerly  lived  on  the  lake  shore  and  had 
thus  become  acquainted  with  Merrick  and  the 
Sobbers. 

As  soon  as  possible  the  captured  robber  was 
handed  over  to  the  authorities,  and  Dick  sent  a 
message  home  acquainting  his  uncle  with  what 
had  occurred.  This  brought  on  both  Randolph 
Rover  and  the  boys'  father. 

"You  have  certainly  done  wonderfully  well," 
said  Randolph  Rover,  as  he  took  his  bonds. 
"Were  you  not  so  rich  already  I  should  want  to 
reward  you." 

"We  don't  want  any  reward,"  said  Dick.  "But 
I  am  sorry  we  didn't  catch  Merrick." 

For  a  long  time  the  authorities  tried  to  catch 


GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM  HALL 


231 


Sid  Merrick  and  also  endeavored  to  learn  the 
whereabouts  of  Tad  Sobber,  but  without  success. 
They  had  disappeared,  and  that  seemed  to  be  the 
end  of  it.  The  old  house  was  visited  again,  but 
nothing  of  value  was  found  there.  Later  on 
some  tramps  set  it  on  fire  and  it  was  burnt  to 
the  ground.  A  month  later  John  Pike  and  one 
other  freight  thief  who  was  captured  were  tried 
for  their  misdeeds  and  sent  to  prison.  The  au 
thorities  used  Bill  Dangler  as  a  witness  against 
them,  and  Dangler,  consequently,  was  let  <*c. 
Strange  to  say,  Dangler  turned  over  a  new  leat 
and  became  a  hard  working  man  in  a  railroad 
stone  quarry  some  miles  from  Carwell. 

With  the  mystery  of  the  traction  company 
bonds  cleared  up,  the  Rover  boys  returned  to  Put 
nam  Hall  to  complete  their  last  term  at  that  insti 
tution  of  learning.  They  applied  themselves  dili 
gently  to  their  studies,  and  when  the  final  ex 
aminations  came  off  all  passed  with  flying  colors. 

"Whoop!  I'm  glad  those  exams,  are  over!" 
cried  Tom.  "I  feel  as  if  a  hundred-pound  weight 
was  taken  off  my  shoulders." 

"I  am  glad,  too,"  answered  Sam. 

"And  I  am  glad  all  of  us  did  so  well,"  put  in 
Dick.  "Our  reports  will  please  father  and  Uncle 
Randolph  and  Aunt  Martha." 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  commencement 
exercises  should  be  carried  out  on  rather  an  elab- 


232  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

orate  scale,  and  many  people  were  invited  to 
attend.  This  brought  all  the  Rovers  and  also 
the  Stanhopes  and  the  Lanings  to  Putnam  Hall. 
Dick  had  been  called  on  to  deliver  the  valedictory 
and  he  made  such  a  stirring  address  that  he  was 
vigorously  applauded.  Sam  and  Tom  appeared 
in  a  humor  dialogue,  with  Fred  and  Larry,  and 
this  was  received  with  shouts  of  laughter.  Song 
bird  recited  an  original  poem  which  was  a  vast 
improvement  over  the  most  of  his  doggerel,  and 
Hans  and  some  of  the  others  sang  in  a  quartet 
which  would  have  done  credit  to  the  average  col 
lege  glee  club. 

"Oh,  it  was  splendid,  Dick!"  said  Dora,  after 
it  was  over  and  congratulations  were  in  order. 
And  her  eyes  shone  like  stars  as  she  pressed  his 
hand. 

"I  saw  only  you,  Dora,  when  I  got  up  to  speak," 
he  whispered.  "And  that's  why  I  did  my  best." 

"You  and  Sam  had  better  go  on  the  stage,"  said 
Nellie  to  Tom.  "That  dialogue  was  too  funny 
for  anything!" 

"I  laughed  till  the  tears  came,"  added  Grace 
"It  was  a  splendid  programme  all  the  way 
through." 

"Well  done,  my  boys,  well  done,"  said  Ander 
son  Rover,  as  he  took  each  by  the  hand.  "I  wa* 
never  so  proud  of  you  as  I  am  to-day." 


GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM  HALL 


233 


"Now  that  we  have  finished  our  studies  here 
what  are  we  to  do  next?"  questioned  Dick, 
earnestly. 

"We  will  settle  that  question  this  summer," 
answered  his  father.  "But  in  the  meantime — " 
Mr.  Rover  paused  and  looked  at  his  oldest  soa 
thoughtfully. 

"But  what,  father?" 

"I  will  tell  you  when  we  get  home,  Dick — there 
is  no  use  of  my  trying  to  do  so  in  this  excite 
ment.  I  have  something  very  unusual  to  pro 
pose,"  answered  Anderson  Rover,  and  what  that 
proposal  was,  and  what  came  of  it,  will  be  re 
lated  in  another  volume,  to  be  entitled,  "The 
Rover  Boys  on  Treasure  Isle;  Or,  The  Strange 
Cruise  of  the  Steam  Yacht."  In  that  volume  we 
shall  meet  many  of  our  old  friends  again,  and 
also  learn  something  concerning  the  disappear 
ance  of  Sid  Merrick  and  Tad  Sobber. 

That  evening  the  celebration  at  Putnam  Hall 
was  continued.  The  cadets  lit  a  huge  bonfire  on 
the  campus  and  around  this  they  danced  and  sang 
and  made  speeches.  They  cheered  everybody, 
from  Captain  Putnam  down  to  Peleg  Snuggers, 
ind  the  festivities  were  kept  up  until  midnight. 
Then  the  boys  went  to  bed — but  not  to  sleep — for 
was  this  not  the  last  night  at  school?  Innumer 
able  tricks  were  played,  including  one  on  Peter 


-234  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

Slade  that  that  youth  never  forgot.     This  made 
the  bully  so  angry  he  declared  he  was  going  to 
quit  Putnam  Hall  for  good,  and  he  did,  and  no- 
(body  missed  him. 

"And  now   for  home!"  cried  Dick  the  next 
morning  on  dressing. 
J     "And  fresh  adventures,"  added  Tom. 

"But  I  do  hate  to  leave  dear  old  Putnam  Hall/' 
sighed  Sam,  and  then  the  others  sighed,  too. 

It  was  not  until  noon  that  the  three  Rover 
boys  were  ready  to  go,  having  first  bid  farewell 
to  their  numerous  friends.  Then  they  shook 
hands  with  Captain  Putnam. 

"We  hate  awfully  to  leave  you,"  said  Dick, 
earnestly. 

"And  I  hate  to  have  you  go,  Richard,"  was 
the  reply.  "You  must  visit  the  Hall  some  time 
in  the  future." 

"And  you  must  come  and  see  us,  Captain  Put 
nam,"  said  Tom. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  added  Sam. 

"I  will,"  answered  the  master  of  the  Hall. 

Then  the  boys  shook  hands  all  over  again  and 
ran  for  the  carryall.  Some  boys  left  behind  set 
fip  a  shout : 

"Good-bye,  Dick!" 

"Sorry  to  have  you  go,  Tom!" 

"May  we  meet  again,  Sam!" 


GOOD-BYE  TO  PUTNAM  HALL  235 

"Good-bye,  everybody!"  was  the  answering 
shout.  "Good-bye  to  dear  old  Putnam  Hall !" 

Then  the  whip  cracked,  the  carryall  rolled  from 
the  door;  and  the  Rover  boys'  days  at  Putnam 
Hall  military  school  were  at  an  end. 


END 


This  Isn't  All! 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
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Would  you  like  to  read  other 
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same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Don't  throw  away  the  Wrapper 

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Publishers  for  a  complete  catalog. 


THE  FAMOUS  ROVER  BOYS 
SERIES 

By  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(EDWARD  STRATEMEYER) 
Beautiful  Wrappers  in  Full  Color 


No  stories  for  boys  ever  published 
have  attained  the  tremendous  popu 
larity  of  this  famous  series.  Since  the 
publication  of  the  first  volume,  The 
Rover  Boys  at  School,  some  years  ago, 
over  three  million  copies  of  these 
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boys  in  a  great  many  different  kinds 
of  activities  and  adventures.  Each 
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every  adventure  loving  boy. 

A  complete  list  of  titles  is  printed 
on  the  opposite  page. 


FAMOUS  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 
OVER  THREE  MILLION  COPIES  SOLD  OF  THIS  SERIES. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.     Colored  Wrapper*. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  OUT  WEST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  UNDER  CANVAS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  HUNT 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  LAND  OF  LUCK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  BEAR  LAKE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  SHIPWRECKED 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SUNSET  TRAIL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  WINNING  A  FORTUNE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,         PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK 


THE    TOM    SWIFT    SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Uniform  Style  of   Binding.     Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Every  boy  possesses  some  form  of  inventive  genius.  Tom  Swift 
,  is  a.  bright,  ingenious  boy  and  his  inventions  and  adventures  make 
'  the  most  interesting  kind  of  reading. 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSfflP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HfS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 

TOM  SWIFT  EN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HiS  AIR  SCOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  UNDERSEA  SEARCH 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  FIRE  FIGHTERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE > 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  FLYiNG  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  OIL  GUSHER  ' 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  CHEST  OF  SECRETS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRLINE  EXPRESS 

TOM  SWIFT  CIRCLING  THE  GLOBE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  TALKING  PICTURES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  HOUSE  ON  WHEELS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  DIRIGIBLE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,   NEW  YORK 


THE  DON  STURDY  SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Author  of  "  The  Tom  Swift  Series  " 

Every  red-blooded  boy  will  enjoy  the  thrilling  adventures 
of  Don  Sturdy.  In  company  with  his  uncles,  one  a  big 
game  hunter,  the  other  a  noted  scientist,  he  travels  far  and 
wide — into  the  jungles  of  South  America,  across  the  Sahara, 
deep  into  the  African  jungle,  up  where  the  Alaskan  volca 
noes  spout,  down  among  the  head  hunters  of  Borneo  and 
many  other  places  where  there  is  danger  and  excitement. 
Every  boy  who  has  known  Tom  Swift  will  at  once  become 
the  boon  companion  of  daring  Don  Sturdy. 

DON  STURDY  ON  THE  DESERT  OF  MYSTERY 

DON  STURDY  WITH  THE  BIG  SNAKE  HUNTERS 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  TOMBS  OF  GOLD 

DON  STURDY  ACROSS  THE  NORTH  POLE 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  VOLCANOES 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  PORT  OF  LOST  SHIPS 

DON  STURDY  AMONG  THE  GORILLAS 

DON  STURDY  CAPTURED  BY  HEAD  HUNTERS 

DON  STURDY  IN  LION  LAND 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  GIANTS 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


[THE  RADIO   BOYS   SERIES 

(Trademark  Registered)    femR* 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 
Author  of  the  "Railroad  Series,"  Etc. 

Illustrated.     Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Here  is  a  series  that  gives  full  details  of  radio  work 
both  in  sending  and  receiving — how  large  and  small  sets 
can  be  made  and  operated,  and  with  this  real  information 
there  are  the  stories  of  the  radio  boys  and  their  adventures. 
Each  story  is  a  record  of  thrilling  adventures — rescues,  nar 
row  escapes  from  death,  daring  exploits  in  which  the  radio 
plays  a  main  part.  Each  volume  is  so  thoroughly  fascin 
ating,  so  strictly  up-to-date,  and  accurate  that  all  modern 
boys  will  peruse  them  with  delight. 

Each  volume  has  a  foreword  by  Jack  Binns,  the  well 
known  radio  expert. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  FIRST  WIRELESS 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  OCEAN  POINT 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  THE  SENDING  STATION 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  MOUNTAIN  PASS 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  TRAILING  A  VOICE 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FOREST  RANGERS 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  ICEBERG  PATROL 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FLOOD  FIGHTERS 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  ON  SIGNAL  ISLAND 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  IN  GOLD  VALLEY 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AIDING  THE  SNOWBOUND 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  TO  THE  RESCUE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK' 


THE  RAILROAD  SERIES 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 
Author  of  the  "Radio  Boys"  Etc. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.      Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

In  this  line  of  books  there  is  revealed  the  whole  workings  of  a 
great  American  railroad  system.  There  are  adventures  in  abund 
ance — railroad  wrecks,  dashes  through  forest  fires,  the  pursuit  of  a 
"wildcat"  locomotive,  the  disappearance  of  a  pay  car  with  a  large 
sum  of  money  on  board— but  there  is  much  more  than  this — the 
intense  rivalry  among  railroads  and  railroad  men,  the  working  out 
of  running  schedules,  the  getting  through  "on  time"  in  spite  of 
all  obstacles,  and  the  manipulation  of  railroad  securities  by  evil 
men  who  wish  to  rule  or  ruin. 

RALPH  OF  THE  ROUND  HOUSE;  or,  Bound  to 

Become  a  Railroad  Man. 
RALPH  IN  THE  SWITCH  TOWER;  or,  Clearing 

the  Track. 

RALPH  ON  THE  ENGINE;  or,  The  Young  Fire 
man  of  the  Limited  Mail. 
RALPH  ON  THE  OVERLAND  EXPRESS ;  or,  The 

Trials  and  Triumphs  of  a  Young  Engineer. 
RALPH,  THE  TRAIN   DISPATCHER;   or,  The 

Mystery  of  the  Pay  Car. 
RALPH  ON  THE  ARMY  TRAIN ;  or,  The  Young 

Railroader's  Most  Daring  Exploit. 
RALPH  ON   THE  MIDNIGHT  FLYER;  or,   The 

Wreck  at  Shadow  Valley. 
RALPH  AND  THE  MISSING  MAIL,  POUCH;  or, 

The  Stolen  Government  Bonds. 
RALPH  ON   THE   MOUNTAIN  DIVISION;  or, 

Fighting  Both  Flames  and  Flood. 
RALPH  AND  THE  TRAIN  WRECKERS ;  or,  The 

Secret  of  the  Blue  Freight  Cars. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


,THE  HARDY  BOY'S  SERIES 

By  FRANKLIN  W.  DIXON 
Illustrated.     Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

HTHE  HARDY  BOYS  are  sons  of  a  celebrated  Ameri- 
can  detective,  and  during  vacations  and  their  off  time 
from  school  they  help  their  father  by  hunting  down  clues 
themselves. 

THE  TOWER  TREASURE 

A  dying  criminal  confessed  that  his  loot  had  been  secreted  "in  the 
tower."  It  remained  for  the  Hardy  Boys  to  make  an  astonishing  discovery 
that  cleared  up  the  mystery. 

THE  HOUSE  ON  THE  CLIFF 

The  house  had  been  vacant  and  was  supposed  to  be  haunted.  Mr.  Hardy 
started  to  investigate — and  disappeared  I  An  odd  tale,  with  plenty  of  ex 
citement. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  OLD  MILL 

Counterfeit  money  was  in  circulation,  and  the  limit  was  reached  when 
Mrs.  Hardy  took  some  from  a  stranger.  A  tale  full  of  thrills. 

THE  MISSING  CHUMS 

Two  of  the  Hardy  Boys'  chums  take  a  motor  trip  down  the  coast.  They 
disappear  and  are  almost  rescued  by  their  friends  when  all  are  captured. 
A  thrilling  story  of  adventure. 

HUNTING  FOR  HIDDEN  GOLD 

Mr.  Hardy  is  injured  in  tracing  some  stolen  gold.  A  hunt  by  the  boys 
leads  to  an  abandoned  mine,  and  there  things  start  to  happen.  A  western 
story  all  boys  will  enjoy. 

THE  SHORE  ROAD  MYSTERY 

Automobiles  were  disappearing  most  mysteriously  from  the  Shone  Road. 
It  remained  for  the  Hardy  Boys  to  solve  the  mystery. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  CAVES 

'When  the  boys  reached  the  caves  they  came  unexpectedly  npon  a  queer 
old  hermit. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  CABIN  ISLAND 

A  story  of  queer  adventures  on  a  rockbound  island. 

THE  GREAT  AIRPORT  MYSTERY 

The  Hardy  Boys  solve^the.'mystery  of  the  disappearance  of  some  valua 
ble  mail. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE  TED  SCOTT  FLTIKfG  STORIES 

: B?  FRANKLIN  W.  DIXOKf 

Illustrated.    Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

No  subject  has  so  thoroughly  caught  the  imagination  of 
youngAmerica  as  aviation.  This  series  has  been  inspired 
oy  recent  daring  feats  of  the  air,  and  is  dedicated  to  Lind- 
berg,  Byrd,  Chamberlin  and  other  heroes  of  the  skies. 

OVER  THE  OCEAN  TO  PARIS ; 

or  Ted  Scotfs  daring  long  distance  flight. 

RESCUED  IN  THE  CLOUDS; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  Hero  of  the  Air. 

OVER  THE  ROCKIES  WITH  THE  AIR  MAIL  ; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  Lost  in  the  Wilderness. 

FIRST  STOP  HONOLULU; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  over  the  Pacific. 

THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  LOST  FLYERS; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  Over  the  West  Indies. 

SOUTH  OF  THE  RIO  GRANDE; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  On  a  Secret  Mission. 

ACROSS  THE  PACIFIC; 

or,  Ted  Scott's  Hop  to  Australia. 

THE  LONE  EAGLE  OF  THE  BORDER ; 

or,  Ted  Scott  and  the  Diamond  Smugglers. 

FLYING  AGAINST  TIME ; 

or,  Breaking  the  Ocean  to  Ocean  Record. 

OVER  THE  JUNGLE  TRAILS  ; 

or,  Ted  Scott  and  the  Missing  Explorers. 

LOST  AT  THE  SOUTH  POLE; 

or,  Ted  Scott  in  Blizzard  Land. 

THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  ALASKA ; 

or,  Ted  Scotfs  Search  in  Nugget  Valley. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


WESTERN  STORIES  FOR  BOYS 

By  JAMES  CODY  FERRIS 

Individual  Colored  Wrapper*  and  Illustration*  by 

WALTER  S.  ROGERS 
Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Thrilling  tales  of  the  great  west,  told  primarily  for 
boys  but  which  will  be  read  by  all  who  love  mystery, 
rapid  action,  and  adventures  in  the  great  open  spaces. 

The  Manly  Boys,  Roy  and  Teddy,  are  the  sons  of 
an  old  ranchman,  the  owner  of  many  thousands  of 
heads  of  cattle.  The  lads  know  how  to  ride,  how  to 
shoot,  and  how  to  take  care  of  themselves  under  any 
and  all  circumstances. 

The  cowboys  of  the  X  Bar  X  Ranch  are  real  cow 
boys,  on  the  job  when  required  but  full  of  fun  and 
daring — a  bunch  any  reader  will  be  delighted  to  know. 

THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  THE  RANCH 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  IN  THUNDER  CANYON 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  WHIRLPOOL  RIVER 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  BIG  BISON  TRAIL 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  THE  ROUND-UP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  NUGGET  CAMP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  RUSTLER'S  GAP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  GRIZZLY  PASS 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  LOST  IN  THE  ROCKIES 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


Football  ana  Baseball  Stories 

IU«nd      fflMtMkted.     Cohmi   Wrappers 
Er«ry  Vofame 


The  RalpK  Henry  Barbour  Books  For  Boys 

la  these  up-to  the  minute,  spirited  genuine  stories  of  boy  life 
there  is  something  which  will  appeal  to  erery  boy  with  the  lore 
of  »»a«li«^gg  cleanness  and  sportsmanship  in  his  heart. 


LEFT  END  EDWARDS 
LEFT  TACKLE  THAYER 
LEFT  GUARD  GILBERT 
CENTER  RUSH  ROWLAND 
FULLBACK  POSTER 
LEFT  HALF  HARMON 
RIGHT  END  EMERSON 
RIGHT  GUARD  GRANT 
QUARTERBACK  BATES 
RIGHT  TACKLE  TODD 
RIGHT  HALF  HOLLINS 

The  Tod  Hale  Series 

TOD  HALE  IN  CAMP 

TOD  HALE  WITH  THE  CREW 

TOD  HALE  ON  THE  SCRUB 

The  Christy  Matkewson  Books  For  Bo>)s 

Ewery  boy  wants  to  know  how  to  play  ball  in  the  fairest  aod 
sqparest  way.  These  books  about  boys  and  baseball  are  full  of 
wholesome  and  manly  interest  and  information. 

PITCHER  POLLOCK 
CATCHER  CRAIG 
FIRST  BASE  FAULKNER 
SECOND  BASE  SLOAN 
PITCHING  IN  A  PINCH 


THIRD  BASE  THATCHER,  By  Eretett  Scott. 
GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


FLYING  STORIES  FOR  BOYS 

IN  THE  AIR  WITH  ANDY  LANE 
By  EUSTACE  L.  ADAMS 

Illustrated.      Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Mr.  Adams,  tke  author  of  tkis  flying  series  for  boys  is  an  ex 
perienced  aviator  and  has  had  many  thrilling  adventures  in  the 
air — both  as  a  member  of  the  famous  Lafayette  Escadrille  in 
the  World  War  and  in  the  United  States  Naval  Aviation 
Service  flying  with  the  squadrons  patrolling  the  Atlantic 
Coast.  His  stories  reveal  not  only  his  ability  to  tell  daring 
and  exciting  air  episodes  but  also  his  first  hand  knowledge  of 
modern  aeroplanes  and  the  marvelous  technical  improvements 
which  have  been  made  in  the  past  few  years.  Andy  Lane 
flies  the  latest  and  most  highly  developd  machines  in  the 
field  of  aviation. 

FIFTEEN  DAYS  IN  THE  AIR 

Andy  refuels  his  ship  in  the  air  and  sets  a  new  endurance  record. 

OVER  THE  POLAR  ICE 

In  a  giant  flying  boat  Andy  beats  his  enemy  in  a  dash  to  the  South  Pole. 

RACING  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

In  a  series  of  thrilling  flights  Andy  wins  an  air  dash  around  the  globe  to 
win  a  $100,000  prize. 

THE  RUNAWAY  AIRSHIP 

Through  foggy  skies  Andy  Lane  brings  back  the  world's  greatest  pas 
senger  carrying  dirigible,  blown  away  on  the  wings  of  a  storm. 

PIRATES  OF  THE  AIR 

Andy  Lane  pilots  the  giant  passenger  plane  Apex  No.  4  across  the  Atlan 
tic  in  the  face  of  almost  overwhelming  odds. 

ON  THE  WINGS  OF  FLAME 

Andy  makes  a  forced  landing  in  the  South  American  jungle  in  the  dead 
j  of  night  and  has  thrilling  experiences  with  the  natives. 

THE  FLYING  WINDMILL 

Andy  Lane  and  his  restless  crew  take  off  in  a  monster  autogyro  in 
search  of  pirate  treasure. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


BUDDY  BOOKS  FOR  BOYS 

Illustrated.     Individual  Colored  Wrappers 

Tales  of  old  Western  pioneer  days  and  tke  California 
gold  fields ;  tales  of  mystery,  humor,  adventure  ;  thrilling 
stories  of  sports  and  aviation.  TKere  is  a  wide  range  of  sub 
jects  in  this  list  of  titles — all  by  well-known  authors  of  books 
for  boys. 

LEFTY  LEIGHTON »... By  PercyTCeese  Fitzhugh 

NUMBER  44 By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

BILL  D ARROWS  VICTORY By  William  Heyliger 

THE  STORY  OF  TERRIBLE  TERRY. . .  .By  Percy  Keese  Fitzbagh 

BEYOND  THE  DOG'S  NOSE By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

DING  PALMER,  AIR  DETECTIVE By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

BEAN-BALL  BILL By  William  Heyliger 

MARK  GILMORE,  SCOUT  OF  THE  AIR. By  Percy  Keese  Fitzhugh 
CAMERON  MACBAIN.  BACKWOODS. 

MAN By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

FLYING  HEELS By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

FLASHING  STEEL By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

BUFFALO  BOY. By  J.  Allan  Dunn 

THE  CLOUD  PATROL By  Irving  Crump 

SPIFFY  HENSHAW By  Percy  Keese  Fitzhugh 

THE  PILOT  OF  THE  CLOUD  PATROL By  Irving  Crump 

DON  RAIDER,  TRAIL  BLAZER By  Harold  M.  Sherman 

TUCK  SIMMS,  FORTY-NINER By  Edward  Leonard 

WIGWAG  WEIGAND. By  Percy  Keese  Fitzhugh 

HERVEY  WILLETTS By  Percy  Keese  Fitzhugh 

SKINNY  McCORD By  Percy  Keese  Fitzhugh 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


UC SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARYFAOUTY 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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